ArticleBMC rheumatology2025
Use of Bayesian techniques in clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis: a scoping review.
Article in BMC rheumatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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Who cites it
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo gather all relevant literature surrounding the use of Bayesian methods in clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis; and to assess the use of these methods within said trials.
methodsMedline and Embase were searched on August 18, 2024. The search strategy and screening process was performed by a single reviewer and verified by a secondary expert. We included studies that presented the primary results of a clinical trial designed to examine a treatment for either rheumatoid arthritis or systemic sclerosis, and that also included the use of a Bayesian technique. From these studies, we extracted the following information: author(s), title, year of publication, study objectives, disease under study, treatment under study, description of study sample, phase of trial, main results, description of Bayesian technique employed, and rationale for use of Bayesian technique (if applicable). The Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool was used to critically appraise each included study. Extracted data were recorded in a spreadsheet and results were synthesized narratively.
resultsA total of 11 studies were included in the final review. Seven of these studies evaluated treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, and four evaluated treatments for systemic sclerosis. A total of five Bayesian techniques were identified. These techniques included the use of posterior probabilities for efficacy analysis, simulation to estimate power and type I error for trials that employed a Bayesian analysis, Bayesian dose-finding algorithms, interim analyses using Bayesian stopping rules, and Bayesian response-adaptive randomization. A variety of rationales for the decision to use Bayesian methods were expressed.
conclusionsThe application of Bayesian methods offers many notable advantages, yet their uptake within rheumatology trials has been slow. Increased awareness of these advantages could greatly benefit the clinical trial world.
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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.