Margit Kooijman

78 Methodological quality There was disagreement between reviewers on seven of 162 (9 × 18) items (4 %), which was solved by discussion. Six studies were classified as high quality studies and three as low quality, there was a range in scores between 9 and 16 points. Table 3 presents the methodological quality of all studies, including those of the original re- view. In most studies, items ‘description of study population’ (C), ‘prospective data collection’ (F), ‘assessment of outcome criteria’ (K), ‘assessment of patient characteristic and prognostic factors’ (L), ‘frequencies of outcome measures’ (N) and ‘frequencies of prognostic factors’ (O) of the criteria list were well described. In five studies, follow-up was shorter than six months (G). Both items on response were poorly described; in eight studies the response rate was higher than 75 % (D) and in three studies information was given about responders/non responders (E). In addition, the minority of studies included information on dropouts or those lost to follow up. TABLE 3. Results of the methodological assessment of prognostic cohort studies on soulder disorders First author A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R Quality score Score (%) Bartolozzi 1994 - + - ? ? + + - ? + + + ? + + + - + 10 56 Binder 1984 - + - ? ? + + + ? + + + ? + + - - - 9 50 Brox 1996 - + + + - ? + + + ? + + + + + + + + 14 78 Cassou 2002 + + + + ? + + + ? ? + + + + + + + + 15 83 Chard 1988 + ? + ? ? + + + ? ? + + ? + + + ? + 11 61 Croft 1996 + ? + ? ? + + - + ? + ? ? + - + ? + 9 50 Engebretsen 2010 - + + + ? + + + + + + + + + + + + - 15 83 Gill 2013 - ? + ? ? + + ? ? ? + + - + + - + + 9 50 Herin 2012 - ? + ? ? + + ? ? ? + + + + + - + + 10 56 Kaergaard 2000 ? ? + + ? + + - - ? + ? + - - ? ? - 6 33 Kennedy 2006 + + + + + + - + ? + + + + + + + + + 16 89 Kuijpers 2006 + + + ? ? + + + + + + + + + + + + + 16 89 Kuroda 2001 ? ? + ? ? + + ? ? ? ? ? ? + - ? ? + 5 28 Luime 2004 - ? + ? ? + + - - ? + + + + + + + - 10 56 Macfarlane 1998 - ? + + ? + + - + ? + + + + + + + + 13 72 Miranda 2001 ? ? + + + + + ? ? ? + + + + - + + + 12 67 Morrison 1997 ? + - ? ? + + + ? + + + ? + + - - + 10 56 Mulcahy 1994 - ? + ? ? + - - ? + + ? ? ? - - - - 4 22 O’Malley 2004 ? ? + ? ? + - - + + + + + + + + + - 11 61 Shaffer 1992 - + + ? ? + + - ? - + ? ? + - - - - 6 33 Solomon 2001 - + + ? ? + + ? ? ? + + ? - + + + - 9 50 Thomas 2004 + + + ? ? + + + ? + + + ? + + + + + 14 78 Viikari 2000 + ? + - + + - ? ? ? + ? ? + + + + + 10 56 Windt 1996 + + + + - + + + - - + + ? + + + + + 14 78 Windt 2007 + + + ? ? + - + + + + + + + + + + + 15 83