Network Meta-Analysis: Evidence Synthesis With Mixed Treatment Comparison Edited by Giuseppe Biondi-Zoccai

摘要

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses, being at the intersection of clinical medicine, epidemiology, statistics, and translational research, are key methodologies for the practice of evidence-based medicine (1, 2). Traditional meta-analytical methods, however, pertain to pairwise comparisons between 2 interventions, thus only partially providing evidence that patients, clinicians, and policy-makers need in order to make informed decisions or public health recommendations regarding prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Questions similar to the following are often encountered in clinical practice. When there are direct (i.e., head-to-head) comparisons for only a few of the numerous biological agents for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, which one will have the greatest benefit in relieving joint pain? Which of the dozens of antidepressants are more likely to be effective in comparison with all other drugs in improving the symptoms of depression; are all of them equal, or is there a ranking as far as their effectiveness and safety profiles are concerned?