Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42299433›Full record

ArticleArchives of academic emergency medicine2026

Concerns About Heterogeneity Assessment in Statistics of Meta-analyses; a Letter to the Editor.

Manoochehr Karami, Mehrdad Farrokhi

Abstract readLetter
In one paragraph

Article in Archives of academic emergency medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

2 authors.

Manoochehr KaramiPandemic and Epidemic preparedness and Response Research Network, Research Institute for Health Sciences and Environment, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mehrdad FarrokhiDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The rapid growth of diagnostic meta-analyses has highlighted concerns regarding heterogeneity assessment and statistical model selection. Although heterogeneity is commonly evaluated using the Cochrane Q test and I² statistic, conceptual and methodological judgment should guide model choice. Inadequate reporting of statistical models and reliance on software default settings can lead to discrepancies in pooled diagnostic estimates. Differences between Meta-DiSc and MIDAS are minimal under low heterogeneity but become pronounced with high heterogeneity, underscoring the need for transparent reporting and informed methodological decisions.

Indexed as

Data AnalysisHeterogeneityMeta-analysisSensitivity and SpecificitySystematic review

Identifiers

PMID42299433
PMCPMC13265065

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.