The effect of prone versus supine positioning in mortality among adult patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome: a meta-analysis

Methods We used literature search of MEDLINE, Current Contents, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and HighWire Press to identify relevant RCTs for our meta-analysis. We used the following search strategy and MeSH/key terms: (prone OR prone ventilation) AND (ARDS OR acute respiratory distress syndrome). We limited our search to clinical trials. No limits are set for language of publication. We performed manual search of the references from original studies and review articles to identify any additional relevant trials and increase completeness. We searched for electronic conference proceedings of the American Thoracic Society and unpublished and ongoing trials in ClinicalTrials.gov and Current Controlled Trials. Odds ratio with 95% CI was computed for dichotomous outcomes using Mantel-Haenszel and random-effects model.