Improvement needed in the network geometry and inconsistency of Cochrane network meta-analyses: a cross-sectional survey

Ref ID 681
First Author Y. Gao
Journal JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
Year Of Publishing 2019
URL https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.05.022
Keywords • Cochrane
• Network meta-analysis
• General medical
• Publication bias
• Low reporting quality
• Low methodological quality
Problem(s) • Low reporting (PRISMA) quality
• Low methodological (AMSTAR) quality
• Poor consideration of publication bias
• Individual study characteristics not reported sufficiently
Article Type Empirical
Article Subtype Cross-sectional survey/Methodological systematic review
First Author Country China
Aim To assess the methodological and reporting quality of network meta-analyses published in the Cochrane library between 2004 and 2017.
Level of Investigation Descriptive
Summary of Findings Only 26.2% NMAs described the geometry of network, 64.3% presented the network plot, and 33.3% fully assessed the inconsistency. The overall methodological quality was low. 88.1% of the included NMAs did not explain their selection of the study designs for inclusion in the review, and 59.5% of the NMAs did not carry out an adequate investigation of publication bias
Number of systematic reviews included 42
Number of eligible systematic reviews assessed 994
Treatment impacted No
Treatment impacted description
Interpretation impacted Not Applicable
Interpretation impacted description