Methods for the Inclusion of Real-World Evidence in a Rare Events Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Many rare events meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have lower statistical power, and real-world evidence (RWE) is becoming widely recognized as a valuable source of evidence. The purpose of this study is to investigate methods for including RWE in a rare events meta-analysis of RCTs and the impact on the level of uncertainty around the estimates.

Methods

Four methods for the inclusion of RWE in evidence synthesis were investigated by applying them to two previously published rare events meta-analyses: the naïve data synthesis (NDS), the design-adjusted synthesis (DAS), the use of RWE as prior information (RPI), and the three-level hierarchical models (THMs). We gauged the effect of the inclusion of RWE by varying the degree of confidence placed

SUBMITTER: Yao M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9964527 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature