Prospective meta-analysis using individual patient data in intensive care medicine
Open Access
- 18 September 2009
- journal article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Intensive Care Medicine
- Vol. 36 (1), 11-21
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00134-009-1650-x
Abstract
Meta-analysis is a technique for combining evidence from multiple trials. However, meta-analyses of studies with substantial heterogeneity among patients within trials-common in intensive care-can lead to incorrect conclusions if performed using aggregate data. Use of individual patient data (IPD) can avoid this concern, increase the power of a meta-analysis, and is useful for exploring subgroup effects. Barriers exist to IPD meta-analysis, most of which are overcome if clinical trials are designed to prospectively facilitate the incorporation of their results with other trials. We review the features of prospective IPD meta-analysis and identify those of relevance to intensive care research. We identify three clinical questions, which are the subject of recent or planned randomised controlled trials where IPD MA offers advantages over approaches using aggregate data.Keywords
This publication has 86 references indexed in Scilit:
- Elective high-frequency oscillatory ventilation in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome: an individual patient data meta-analysisBMC Pediatrics, 2009
- Intensity of Renal Support in Critically Ill Patients with Acute Kidney InjuryThe New England Journal of Medicine, 2008
- A meta-analysis of N-acetylcysteine in contrast-induced nephrotoxicity: unsupervised clustering to resolve heterogeneityBMC Medicine, 2007
- Inpatient disposition classification for the creation of hospital surge capacity: a multiphase studyThe Lancet, 2006
- Temporal trends on the risk of arrhythmic vs. non-arrhythmic deaths in high-risk patients after myocardial infarction: a combined analysis from multicentre trialsEuropean Heart Journal, 2005
- Effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early breast cancer on recurrence and 15-year survival: an overview of the randomised trialsThe Lancet, 2005
- Health care facility and community strategies for patient care surge capacityAnnals of Emergency Medicine, 2004
- How should meta‐regression analyses be undertaken and interpreted?Statistics in Medicine, 2002
- Individual patient‐ versus group‐level data meta‐regressions for the investigation of treatment effect modifiers: ecological bias rears its ugly headStatistics in Medicine, 2002
- Meta‐analyses in systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials in perinatal medicine: comparison of fixed and random effects modelsStatistics in Medicine, 2001