Systematic Review and Meta Analysis Flashcards
Systematic Review
A structured process for identifying and summarizing existing studies that address a specific question
When is a Systemic Review Useful?
Multiple strong studies are available, but the answers provided by these studies are not in consistent agreement
What are the 3 Framework/Tools used in Systematic Reviews?
- PICOTS
- PRISMA
- Evidence Table
PICOTS
Population
Intervention
Comparator
Outcome
Timing
Setting
When identifying the literature, what must be done?
- Specify search databases, search terms, time frame, and number of reviewers
- > 2 reviewers minimum
Hand Search Reference List
Included full text articles as a quality check of the search process
Grey Literature
Includes written material or reports that are not found in published journals
PRISMA (flow diagram)
Preferred
Reporting
Items for
Systematic
Reviews and
Meta
Analysis
Are Systematic Reviews qualitative or quantitative?
QUALITATIVE
Meta Analysis = quantitative
Evidence Table
Purpose is to allow consistent evaluation and comparison of all aspects of included studies
-SHOULD included assessment of quality or risk of bias
Synthesizing Evidence
A systematic review should always include a synthesis of included studies
-Qualitative or Quantitative
Meta Analysis
Produce a SINGLE estimate of treatment effect across included studies
-Multiple studies >3 identified through a systematic review process
-Results of studies are not so similar that the effect size is obvious, yet results of studies should not be too dissimilar
Heterogeneity
Reflects the variation of results of studies included in the meta-analysis
Why is less variability and heterogeneity desired?
Increase in either = LESS precision
Ways of Assessing Heterogeneity
- Chi Square Stat X^2 with p<0.05 is interpreted as statistically significant heterogeneity aka rejecting null is NOT desired
- I-sqaure stat I^2 is reported as a percentage between 0-100% where >50% is NOT desired
