382,938 papers found

We investigate the effect of the choice of parameterisation of meta-analytic models and related uncertainty on the validation of surrogate endpoints. Different meta-analytical approaches take into account different levels of uncertainty which may impact on the accuracy of the predictions of treatment effect on the targ…

Hierarchical models such as the bivariate and hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) models are recommended for meta-analysis of test accuracy studies. These models are challenging to fit when there are few studies and/or sparse data (for example zero cells in contingency tables due to studies r…

Meta-analysis of time-to-event outcomes using the hazard ratio as a treatment effect measure has an underlying assumption that hazards are proportional. The between-arm difference in the restricted mean survival time is a measure that avoids this assumption and allows the treatment effect to vary with time. We describe…

Recent advance in biotechnology and its wide applications have led to the generation of many high-dimensional gene expression data sets that can be used to address similar biological questions. Meta-analysis plays an important role in summarizing and synthesizing scientific evidence from multiple studies. When the dime…

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of a higher publishing probability for statistically significant positive outcomes on the false-positive rate in meta-analysis. DESIGN: Meta-analyses of different sizes (N=10, N=20, N=50 and N=100), levels of heterogeneity and levels of publication bias were simulated. PRIMARY AND…

Complex clinical decisions require the decision maker to evaluate multiple factors that may interact with each other. Many clinical studies, however, report 'univariate' relations between a single factor and outcome. Such univariate statistics are often insufficient to provide useful support for complex clinical decisi…

Meta-analyses constitute fundamental tools of the Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) aiming at synthesizing outcome data from individual trials in order to produce pooled effect estimates for various outcomes of interest. Combining summary data from several studies increases the sample size, improves the statistical power o…

The standard estimator for the log odds ratio (the unconditional maximum likelihood estimator) and the delta-method estimator for its standard error are not defined if the corresponding 2 × 2 table contains at least one "zero cell". This is also an issue when estimating the overall log odds ratio in…

We present the R package and web app statcheck to automatically detect statistical reporting inconsistencies in primary studies and meta-analyses. Previous research has shown a high prevalence of reported p-values that are inconsistent - meaning a re-calculated p-value, based on the reported test statistic and degrees…

INTRODUCTION: Meta-analysis is the cornerstone of robust biomedical evidence. OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether statistical reporting practices facilitate metabolomics meta-analyses. METHODS: A literature review of 44 studies that used a comparable platform. RESULTS: Non-numeric formats were used in 31 studies.&#x…

The current paper is a call for and illustration of a way of closing the gap between basic research and professional practice in the field of neurorehabilitation. Methodologically, single-case experimental designs and the guidelines created regarding their conduct are highlighted. Statistically, we review two data anal…

This article is the first in a series of six articles related to systematic reviews in animal agriculture and veterinary medicine. In this article, we overview the methodology of systematic reviews and provide a discussion of their use. Systematic reviews differ qualitatively from traditional reviews by explicitly defi…

Writing the variance of the Mantel-Haenszel estimator under the null of homogeneity and inverting the corresponding test, we arrive at an improved confidence interval for the common risk difference in stratified 2 × 2 tables. This interval outperforms a variety of other intervals currently recommende…

INTRODUCTION: An increasing number of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have compared the analgesic effects of erector spinae plane block with those of intercostal nerve block for postoperative analgesia in various surgeries, but the results have been inconsistent. This protocol of a systematic review and meta-analys…

INTRODUCTION: In light of the rising prevalence of sedentary behaviour worldwide, its impact on health has become a subject of growing interest. To clarify whether there is a significant correlation between sedentary behaviour and chronic pelvic pain in women and to explore its potential clinical implications, this stu…

BACKGROUND: Improving patient outcomes will be enhanced by understanding "what works, for whom?" enabling better matching of patients to available treatments. However, answering this "what works, for whom?" question requires sample sizes that exceed those of most individual trials. Conventional methods for combining da…

We read with great interest the systematic review and meta-analysis by Cigrovski Berkovicpublished recentlywhich evaluated the association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs). The study identified T2DM as a risk factor for the development of pNETs and linked it to poor t…

BACKGROUND: Reference intervals, which define an interval in which a specific proportion of measurements from a healthy population are expected to fall, are commonly used in medical practice. Synthesizing information from multiple studies through meta-analysis can provide a more precise and representative reference int…

Network meta-analysis (NMA), an increasingly appealing method of statistical analysis, is superior to traditional analysis methods in terms of being able to compare multiple medical treatment methods in one analysis run. In recent years, the prevalence of NMA in the medical literature has increased significantly, while…