Mapping the characteristics of network meta-analyses on drug therapy: A systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Network meta-analysis (NMA) is a new tool developed to overcome some limitations of pairwise meta-analyses. NMAs provide evidence on more than two comparators simultaneously. This study aimed to map the characteristics of the published NMAs on drug therapy comparisons.

Methods

A systematic review of NMAs comparing pharmacological interventions was performed. Searches in Medline (PubMed) and Scopus along with manual searches were conducted. The main characteristics of NMAs were systematically collected: publication metadata, criteria for drug inclusion, statistical methods used, and elements reported. A methodological quality score with 25 key elements was created and applied to the included NMAs. To identify potential trends, the median of the publication year dis

SUBMITTER: Tonin FS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5927429 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature