Assessing evidence quality in research reporting neurocognitive outcomes following paediatric temporal lobe surgery for epilepsy.

Affiliation

Paediatric Neuropsychology, The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, E Floor, Martin Wing, Leeds General Infirmary, Great George Street, Leeds, LS1 3EX, UK. Electronic address: [Email]

Abstract

RCTs are the gold standard in determining intervention efficacy with journal impact factor assumed to index research quality. Flint et al's (2017) systematic review examined neurocognitive outcomes following paediatric temporal lobe epilepsy surgery. Retrieved evidence was restricted to non-RCTs, which pose greater risk of bias and thus diminish research quality. The current study evaluated risk of bias in sources retrieved by Flint et al. and explored whether impact factor related to research quality within this selected field.

Keywords

Bias,Cognitive,Pediatric epilepsy surgery,Research quality,