Page 24 - Predicting survival in patients with spinal bone metastasesL

CHAPTER II
Records identified (n=4676)
Figure 1. Patient inclusion flowchart.
Study characteristics
The characteristics of the 22 included studies are presented in table 1. Seven studies were based on prospectively collected data and the remaining fifteen inclusions were retrospective studies. The population of seven studies consisted of surgically treated patients only, whereas five studies were based on patients treated with radiotherapy only. Nine studies consisted of a mixed population and the treatment details of one study were not reported. Duration of follow-up was reported in nine studies and ranged from 8 to 72 months. Median duration of the period of recruitment was 8 years and ranged from 1 to 20 years.
22
Records after duplicates removed
(n=2989)
Duplicates removed (n=1687)
Records excluded (n=2847)
Full-text assessed for eligibility
(n=142)
Full-text articles excluded
(n=120)
Studies included (n=22)
Inclusion Eligibility Screening Identification