Evidence-based Practice Center Systematic Review Protocol: Platelet-rich Plasma for Wound Care in the Medicare

Measurement and assessment methods including method of assessment(s); frequency and time points for assessment(s) (including long term assessments for durability of heal); and blinding of assessors KQ 1.d Based on the included studies, what are the patient characteristics commonly considered for the initiation and continuation/discontinuation of PRP in patients with chronic wounds? Contextual Ques. [...] Assessment of the Risk of Bias of Individual Studies: We will evaluate the risk of bias of each included study using the Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias 2 tool17 for RCTs to assess bias from the randomization process, intended interventions, missing outcome data, outcome measurement, selective reporting, and other sources. [...] Grading the Strength of Evidence (SOE) for Major Comparisons and Outcomes: We will grade the strength of the body of evidence (SOE) as per the EPC methods guide on assessing SOE.22 We will grade SOE for most critical health outcomes, including completely closed/healed wounds, wound reoccurrence, amputation, hospitalization, pain, and quality of life. [...] The domains will be: the methodological limitations of the studies (i.e., risk of bias); precision (based on the size of the body of evidence, number of events, and confidence intervals); directness of the evidence to the KQs; consistency of results (based on qualitative and statistical approaches to evaluate for heterogeneity); and the likelihood of reporting and publication bias. [...] We will report any limitations in applicability of individual studies in evidence tables and limitations of applicability of the whole body of evidence in the summary of evidence tables.