Systematic reviews with meta-analysis of clinical trials: Is there enough evidence?

Systematic reviews with meta-analysis are essential tools to reliably summarize the effectiveness of health interventions. A meta-analysis based exclusively on a small number of trials will often not be conclusive or may yield false positive results. The estimation of the optimal information size (O...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cirugia española (English ed.) 2020-01, Vol.98 (1), p.4-8
Main Authors: Garcia-Alamino, Josep M, Lopez-Cano, Manuel
Format: Article
Language:eng ; spa
Subjects:
Evidence-Based Medicine
Humans
Meta-Analysis as Topic
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Sample Size
Systematic Reviews as Topic
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Systematic reviews with meta-analysis are essential tools to reliably summarize the effectiveness of health interventions. A meta-analysis based exclusively on a small number of trials will often not be conclusive or may yield false positive results. The estimation of the optimal information size (OIS) can reduce the risk of obtaining false positive results and determine if additional clinical trials are required. The estimation of the OIS is very similar to that used to estimate the sample size of a clinical trial. The required number of participants for the meta-analysis should be at least as large as a single trial with adequate power. The OIS concept provides a statistical framework in which the accumulated information is convincing to indicate whether more clinical trials are needed to address the effects of the intervention.
ISSN:2173-5077
DOI:10.1016/j.ciresp.2019.08.006