Have You Ever Meta-Analysis You Didn't Like?

Editorials1 February 1991Have You Ever Meta-Analysis You Didn't Like?Steven N. Goodman, MD, MHS, PhDSteven N. Goodman, MD, MHS, PhDAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-114-3-244 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThis issue includes a meta-analysis of the use of steroids in treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1). Meta-analyses such as this one command our attention, both because they purport to provide a "definitive" answer to a clinical question that has eluded other researchers and because the work of those researchers, the grist for the meta-analytic mill, is often subject to embarrassingly intense scrutiny. They represent a new class of article, one that straddles the traditional boundaries between original research and review articles. Because meta-analysis is a relatively new and partially technical method, many physicians find themselves unable to appreciate the...References1. CallahanDittusKatz CRB. Oral steroids for patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 1991;114:216-223. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Wachter K. Disturbed by meta-analysis? Science. 1988;241:1407-8. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Mann C. Meta-analysis in the breech. Science. 1990;249:476-80. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Meinert C. Meta-analysis: science or religion? Controlled Clin Trials. 1989;10:257S-63S. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Altman L. Meta-analysis. New York Times. 21 August 1990: Cl. Google Scholar6. Glass G. Primary, secondary and meta-analysis of research. Educational Research. 1976;5:3-9. CrossrefGoogle Scholar7. LightPillemer RD. Summing Up: The Science of Reviewing Research. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; 1984. Google Scholar8. HedgesOlkin LI. Statistical Methods for Meta-Analysis. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press; 1985. Google Scholar9. Wolf F. Meta-analysis [Letter]. N Engl J Med. 1987;317:576. Google Scholar10. DickersinHigginsMeinert KKC. Identification of meta-analyses: the need for standard terminology. Controlled Clin Trials. 1990;11:52-66. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar11. SacksBerrierReitman HJD. Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. N Engl J Med. 1987;316:450-5. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar12. Greenland S. Quantitative methods in the review of epidemiologic literature. Epidemiol Rev. 1987;9:1-30. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13. DerSimonianLaird RN. Meta-analysis in clinical trials. Controlled Clin Trials. 1986;7:177-88. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14. RaudenbushBryk SA. Empirical Bayes meta-analysis. Educational Statistics. 1985;10:75-98. CrossrefGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Steven N. Goodman, MD, MHS, PhDAffiliations: PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited byReferencesA New Approach to Social Entrepreneurship: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisAddition of enamel matrix derivatives to bone substitutes for the treatment of intrabony defects: A systematic review, meta-analysis and trial sequential analysisConflicts of interest and critiques of the use of systematic reviews in policymaking: an analysis of opinion articlesMeta-analysis, Evidence-Based Medicine, and Clinical GuidelinesReduced incidence and mortality from colorectal cancer with flexible-sigmoidoscopy screening: A meta-analysisReduced Risk of Colorectal Cancer With Use of Oral Bisphosphonates: A Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisMeta-Analysis of Therapeutic TrialsMeta-Analysis 101 for PathologistsMeta-Analysis: A Statistical Method to Integrate Information Provided by Different StudiesMeta-Analysis of Therapeutic TrialsTrial sequential analysis reveals insufficient information size and potentially false positive results in many meta-analysesMeta-AnalysisV.D. Pellegrini Jr., M.J. Kelly, M.N. Rumi, M. Kothari, K.J. Bailey, W.M. Parrish, and M.A. Parentis replyApplications of Meta-Analysis in Transfusion MedicinePerioperative allogeneic blood transfusion does not cause adverse sequelae in patients with cancer: a meta-analysis of unconfounded studiesClosure of the Abdominal Midline Fascia: Meta-Analysis Delineates the Optimal TechniqueA systematic review of randomized trials of disease management programs in heart failureContributions of Meta-Analysis to Transfusion MedicineGangrenous and perforated appendicitis: A meta-analytic study of 2532 patients indicates that the incision should be closed primarilyEvaluation of clinical studies of the efficacy of therapeutic apheresisCorticosteroids Are Effective in Patients With Severe Alcoholic HepatitisTransfusion-Associated Immunodulation in Cancer Recurrence and Postoperative Infection: Meta-Analyses of Randomised Controlled Clinical TrialsMeta-Analysis: Methodology, Utility, and LimitationsTransfusion of white‐cell‐containing allogeneic blood components and postoperative wound infection: effect of confounding factorsRisperidone versus haloperidol: I. meta-analysis of efficacy and safetyMeta-analysis in transfusion medicineRationale, objectives, and interpretation of randomized controlled trialsMeta-analysis and prospective meta-analysis in childhood leukemia clinical researchSkeletal Fixation of Grade IIIB Tibial FracturesSoy Protein and Serum LipidsValidation of a meta-analysis: The effects of fish oil in rheumatoid arthritisThe effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) in the treatment of obesity by means of the Simeons therapy: a criteria‐based meta‐analysis.Meta-Analytic Methods for Health Services ResearchComparison of the results of cemented, porous-ingrowth, and threaded acetabular cup fixationLessons Learned from a Prospective Meta-analysisResponseConcordance of endotoxemia with gram-negative bacteremia in patients with gram-negative sepsis: a meta-analysisThromboembolic and bleeding complications in patients with mechanical heart valve prostheses.Recombinant Human Erythropoietin in the Treatment of Anemia Associated with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection and Zidovudine Therapy Overview of Four Clinical TrialsDavid H. Henry, MD, Gildon N. Beall, MD, Constance A. Benson, MD, John Carey, MD, Lawrence A. Cone, MD, Lawrence J. Eron, MD, Milan Fiala, MD, Margaret A. Fischl, MD, Stephen J. Gabin, MD, Michael S. Gottlieb, MD, Jeffrey E. Galpin, MD, Jerome E. Groopman, MD, Thomas M. Hooton, MD, Joseph G. Jemsek, MD, Randy L. Levine, MD, Steven A. Miles, MD, John J. Rinehart, MD, Adan Rios, MD, William J. Robbins, MD, John C. Ruckdeschel, MD, Jean A. Smith, MD, Spotswood L. Spruance, MD, Barbara Starrett, MD, John Toney, MD, Ralph Zalusky, MD, Robert I. Abels, MD, Edward C. Bryant, DrPH, Kay M. Larholt, ScD, Allan R. Sampson, PhD, Seth A. Rudnick, MDMeta-analysis: The fashion of summing-up evidenceAntibiotic prophylaxis for cardiothoracic operationsStatistical methods for early breast cancer trials 1 February 1991Volume 114, Issue 3Page: 244-246KeywordsBiostatisticsChronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseSteroids ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 February 1991 PDF downloadLoading ...