Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29843665›Full record

ArticleBMC pediatrics2018

Network meta-analysis: users' guide for pediatricians.

Reem Al Khalifah, Ivan D Florez, Gordon Guyatt, Lehana Thabane

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC pediatrics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Reem Al KhalifahDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. ralkhalifah@ksu.edu.sa.ORCID 0000-0002-5304-3528
Ivan D FlorezDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Gordon GuyattDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Lehana ThabaneDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNetwork meta-analysis (NMA) is a powerful analytic tool that allows simultaneous comparison between several management/treatment alternatives even when direct comparisons of the alternatives (such as the case in which treatments are compared against placebo and have not been compared against each other) are unavailable. Though there are still a limited number of pediatric NMAs published, the rapid increase in NMAs in other areas suggests pediatricians will soon be frequently facing this new form of evidence summary. DISCUSSION: Evaluating the NMA evidence requires serial judgments on the creditability of the process of NMA conduct, and evidence quality assessment. First clinicians need to evaluate the basic standards applicable to any meta-analysis (e.g. comprehensive search, duplicate assessment of eligibility, risk of bias, and data abstraction). Then evaluate specific issues related to NMA including precision, transitivity, coherence, and rankings.

conclusionsIn this article we discuss how clinicians can evaluate the credibility of NMA methods, and how they can make judgments regarding the quality (certainty) of the evidence. We illustrate the concepts using recent pediatric NMA publications.

Indexed as

PediatricsPractice Guidelines as TopicAntidepressive AgentsDepressionHumansInfant, NewbornInfant, PrematureNetwork Meta-Analysis as TopicPsychotherapyPublication BiasRespiration, ArtificialRespiratory Distress Syndrome, NewbornAntidepressive AgentsEvidence certaintyEvidence credibilityMultiple treatment comparisonsMultiple-treatment meta-analysis evidence synthesisNetwork meta-analysisPediatric

Identifiers

PMID29843665
PMCPMC5975630

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.