Simultaneous multioutcome synthesis and mapping of treatment effects to a common scale.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

A new method is presented for both synthesizing treatment effects on multiple outcomes subject to measurement error and estimating coherent mapping coefficients between all outcomes. It can be applied to sets of trials reporting different combinations of patient- or clinician-reported outcomes, including both disease-specific measures and generic health-related quality-of-life measures. It is underpinned by a structural equation model that includes measurement error and latent common treatment effect factor. Treatment effects can be expressed on any of the test instruments that have been used.

Methods

This is illustrated in a synthesis of eight placebo-controlled trials of TNF-α inhibitors in ankylosing spondylitis, each reporting treatment effects on between two

SUBMITTER: Lu G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3991420 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature