Partial versus full hospitalization for adults in psychiatric distress: a systematic review of the published literature (1957 - 1997)

CRD COMMENTARY: The review question was broadly defined in terms of the intervention and participant and studies of any design were eligible. However, the inclusion criteria were not defined in terms of the outcomes. Three relevant sources were searched and the search terms were stated. Some relevant studies may have been omitted by limiting the included studies to those in English. No attempt was made to locate unpublished studies, thus raising the possibility of publication bias. The methods used to select the studies were not described; hence, the adequacy of the methods used cannot be judged. Only one reviewer extracted the data and assessed validity, and this lack of duplication may lead to errors and bias. Validity was assessed using validated criteria. The methodological limitations of the included studies were discussed. The data were combined in a meta-analysis but statistical heterogeneity was not assessed. However, a sensitivity analysis was used to test the robustness of the results to the exclusion of each study. The authors discussed the limitations of the evidence. The evidence presented appears to support the authors' conclusions.