2.4. Study enrollment and data extraction
Two reviewers (Xiang Yang, Ze ran Yu) extracted data independently using
a predefined data extraction form. Disagreements were resolved by
discussion or consensus with a third reviewer. Microsoft Office Excel
2013 (Microsoft, Redmond, Washington) was used for data extraction. The
data extracted included the study name; publication year, study design,
country of publication, sample size and baseline characteristics (age,
gender, prior surgical history, time from AMI to VSD, time to VSD
closure, when to intervention, presence of CS, prior intra-aortic
balloon pump (IABP), inotropes use and size of the defect), and
procedural characteristics (successful device implantation, size of
device, type of device, immediate shunt reduction), the adverse events
and complications. For studies with insufficient information, the
reviewers contacted the primary authors, when possible, to acquire and
verify the data.