| Ref ID | 173 |
| First Author | H.-J. Malling |
| Journal | ALLERGY |
| Year Of Publishing | 2008 |
| URL | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/j.1398-9995.2008.01908.x?download=true |
| Keywords |
• Cochrane • Immunology • Heterogeneity |
| Problem(s) |
• Inadequate analysis of heterogeneity • Weaknesses identified in some Cochrane reviews |
| Article Type | Editorial |
| Article Subtype | Comment/letter |
| First Author Country | Denmark |
| Aim | A letter which re-examines the meta-analysis of a Cochrane review on the effect of specific immunotherapy in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis published in 2007. |
| Level of Investigation | Descriptive |
| Summary of Findings | The authors re-examined the meta-analysis and ultimate treatment effect of the Cochrane review on the effect of specific immunotherapy in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis published in 2007. They found that excluding studies identified as extreme outliers from the original meta-analysis (as the authors state is generally advised within statistics) using influence statistics helped identify outliers and reasons for heterogeneity. As such, justifications for exclusion due to clinical or methodological heterogeneity were provided for exclusions of outlier studies in the meta-analysis. |
| Number of systematic reviews included | 1 |
| Number of eligible systematic reviews assessed | 1 |
| Treatment impacted | Yes |
| Treatment impacted description | The precision of the treatment effect was greater when outliers were excluded to reduce heterogeneity but the direction of effect was unchanged. |
| Interpretation impacted | No |
| Interpretation impacted description |