What is systematic review and meta-analysis?

A systematic review attempts to gather all available empirical research by using clearly defined, systematic methods to obtain answers to a specific question. A meta-analysis is the statistical process of analyzing and combining results from several similar studies.

What is a review of meta-analysis?

Meta-analysis is a systematic review of a focused topic in the literature that provides a quantitative estimate for the effect of a treatment intervention or exposure.

What is the difference between systematic review and meta analysis?

During the systematic review process, the quality of studies is evaluated, and a statistical meta-analysis of the study results is conducted on the basis of their quality. A meta-analysis is a valid, objective, and scientific method of analyzing and combining different results.

Can systematic reviews and meta-analyses be used in anesthesiology?

In recent years, systematic reviews and meta-analyses have been actively performed in various fields including anesthesiology. These research methods are powerful tools that can overcome the difficulties in performing large-scale randomized controlled trials.

What should readers know about meta-analysis?

Readers should note that, in meta-analysis, data from the individual studies are not simply combined as if they were from a single study. Greater weights are given to the results from studies that provide more information, because they are likely to be closer to the “true effect” we are trying to estimate.

What is the difference between subgroup analysis and meta-regression analysis?

In a subgroup analysis, the data are divided into subgroups that are expected to be homogeneous, and these subgroups are analyzed. This needs to be planned in the predetermined protocol before starting the meta-analysis. A meta-regression analysis is similar to a normal regression analysis, except that the heterogeneity between studies is modeled.