Paediatric study design and bias — branching viva

Opening (candidate)

I would approach these three papers by first framing the question each addresses, then naming the design that fits it, and finally assessing the risk of bias with the matched tool. For the trial I would check the randomisation process and allocation concealment before trusting the large benefit, because a big effect from a poorly concealed trial is the signature of bias. For the case-control study I would weigh the appropriateness of the design for a rare outcome against the threat of recall bias and confounding. For the meta-analysis I would read the heterogeneity and the forest plot to judge whether the pooling across age bands is defensible. ^{[2] [5]}