Outcome Reporting Bias Bmj. Hutton and Williamson first defined outcome reporting bias sometimes termed selective reporting bias in 2000. Tools for assessing risk of bias due to selective non-reporting guide users to assess a study or an outcome within a study as high risk of bias if no results are reported for an outcome.
This has potential to overestimate treatment effects and underestimate harms. This selective non-reporting of outcomes in clinical studies can lead to bias when outcome results are selected based on knowledge of the results and has been shown to affect the conclusions of a substantial proportion of Cochrane systematic reviews. Design Cohort study of systematic reviews from two databases.
However assessing the corresponding risk of bias in a synthesis that is missing the non-reported outcomes is outside the scope of most of these tools.
However assessing the corresponding risk of bias in a synthesis that is missing the non-reported outcomes is outside the scope of most of these tools. However assessing the corresponding risk of bias in a synthesis that is missing the non-reported outcomes is outside the scope of most of these tools. The impact of outcome reporting bias in randomised controlled trials on a cohort of systematic reviews articleKirkham2010TheIO titleThe impact of outcome reporting bias in randomised controlled trials on a cohort of systematic reviews authorJ. This has potential to overestimate treatment effects and underestimate harms.