GetReal in network meta-analysis: a review of the methodology

Orestis Efthimiou*, Thomas P A Debray, Gert van Valkenhoef, Sven Trelle, Klea Panayidou, Karel G M Moons, Johannes B. Reitsma, Aijing Shang, Georgia Salanti

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Pairwise meta-analysis is an established statistical tool for synthesizing evidence from multiple trials, but it is informative only about the relative efficacy of two specific interventions. The usefulness of pairwise meta-analysis is thus limited in real-life medical practice, where many competing interventions may be available for a certain condition and studies informing some of the pairwise comparisons may be lacking. This commonly encountered scenario has led to the development of network meta-analysis (NMA). In the last decade, several applications, methodological developments, and empirical studies in NMA have been published, and the area is thriving as its relevance to public health is increasingly recognized. This article presents a review of the relevant literature on NMA methodology aiming to pinpoint the developments that have appeared in the field.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)236-263
Number of pages28
JournalResearch synthesis methods
Volume7
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2016

Keywords

  • comparing multiple interventions
  • indirect treatment comparison
  • mixed-treatment comparison
  • multiple-treatment meta-analysis

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