An Example of a Complex Table
I was sent to make the table below acessible. I was instructed to keep the questions (1.a and 1.b) within the table, so parts of it may be a little verbose. Feedback or questions can be left on the accompanying blog post.
| Key question, disorder, and outcome of interest | Strength of Evidence 1 | Findings |
|---|---|---|
| Key Question 1a. Comparative efficacy and effectiveness of second-generation antidepressants | ||
| Major Depressive Disorders | ||
| Comparative efficacy | Moderate | Results from direct and indirect comparisons indicate that no substantial differences in efficacy exist among second-generation antidepressants. |
| Comparative effectiveness | Moderate | Direct evidence from 1 good and 2 fair effectiveness studies and indirect evidence from efficacy trials indicate that no substantial differences in effectiveness exist among second-generation antidepressants. |
| Quality of life | Moderate | Consistent results from 18 studies, most of fair quality, indicate that the efficacy of second-generation antidepressants with respect to quality of life does not differ among drugs. |
| Onset of action | Moderate | Consistent results from 7 fair trials suggest that mirtazapine has a significantly faster onset of action than citalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline. Whether this difference can be extrapolated to other second-generation antidepressants is unclear. Most other trials do not indicate a faster onset of action of 1 second-generation antidepressant compared with another. |
| Dysthymia | ||
| Comparative efficacy | Low | No head-to head evidence exists. Findings from 5 placebo-controlled trials were insufficient to draw conclusions about comparative efficacy. |
| Comparative effectiveness | Low | One fair effectiveness study provides mixed evidence about paroxetine vs. placebo; patients older than 60 showed greater improvement on paroxetine; those younger than 50 did not show any difference. |
| Quality of life | No evidence | |
| Onset of action | No evidence | |
| Subsyndromal depression | ||
| Comparative efficacy | Low | One nonrandomized, open-label trial did not detect any difference between citalopram and sertraline. Findings from 2 placebo-controlled trials were insufficient to draw conclusions. |
| Comparative effectiveness | No evidence | |
| Quality of life | No evidence | |
| Onset of action | No evidence | |
| Key Question 1b: Greater efficacy and effectiveness with previously effective medications | ||
| Major depressive disorder | No evidence | |
| Dysthymia | No evidence | |
| Subsyndromal depression | No evidence | |