ArticleInflammopharmacology2020
Pitfalls in meta-analysis.
Article in Inflammopharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Clinical efficacy evaluation and potential mechanism prediction on Pudilan Xiaoyan oral liquid in treatment of mumps in children based on meta-analysis, network pharmacology, and molecular docking.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Pooled it
- What can we learn from network meta-analyses published in top medical journals.Systematic reviews · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
- Comment on
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Systematic reviews with meta-analyses are powerful instruments to synthesize research. If done correctly, they may constitute the highest level of evidence by combining several individual studies. As high-quality evidence is scarce in the field of complementary medicine, meta-analyses of randomized trials may shed new light on both efficacy and safety, but they must be properly conducted. In this commentary to a recently published paper we elaborate on methodological pitfalls in meta-analysis that every researcher should avoid to gain true high-quality evidence.
Indexed as
Identifiers
31140037What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.