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2018 ; 33
(2
): 277-283
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An overview of meta-analysis for clinicians
#MMPMID29277096
Lee YH
Korean J Intern Med
2018[Mar]; 33
(2
): 277-283
PMID29277096
show ga
The number of medical studies being published is increasing exponentially, and
clinicians must routinely process large amounts of new information. Moreover, the
results of individual studies are often insufficient to provide confident
answers, as their results are not consistently reproducible. A meta-analysis is a
statistical method for combining the results of different studies on the same
topic and it may resolve conflicts among studies. Meta-analysis is being used
increasingly and plays an important role in medical research. This review
introduces the basic concepts, steps, advantages, and caveats of meta-analysis,
to help clinicians understand it in clinical practice and research. A major
advantage of a meta-analysis is that it produces a precise estimate of the effect
size, with considerably increased statistical power, which is important when the
power of the primary study is limited because of a small sample size. A
meta-analysis may yield conclusive results when individual studies are
inconclusive. Furthermore, meta-analyses investigate the source of variation and
different effects among subgroups. In summary, a meta-analysis is an objective,
quantitative method that provides less biased estimates on a specific topic.
Understanding how to conduct a meta-analysis aids clinicians in the process of
making clinical decisions.
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