Commentary: Heterogeneity in meta-analysis should be expected and appropriately quantified

Commentary: Heterogeneity in meta-analysis should be expected and appropriately quantified.

It is generally accepted that meta-analyses should assess heterogeneity, which may be defined as the presence of variation in true effect sizes underlying the different studies. This assessment might be achieved by performing a statistical test for heterogeneity, by quantifying its magnitude, by quantifying its impact or by a combination of these. Patsopoulos, Evangelou and Ioannidis propose me...

Heterogeneity, consistency and model fit should be assessed in Bayesian network meta-analysis.

We read with deep interest the article by Wang et al aimed to compare the efficacy of 20 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the short-term treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). This Bayesian network meta-analysis indicated that etoricoxib was more effective in reducing pain in AS than some other NSAIDs. The result was very useful in the decisionmaking process, especially for ...

What Should be Expected from Medical Congresses?

I-14: Assisted Reproduction and Religion What Consideration Should Be and Should Not Be Relevant,

Several important issues are pertinent to an ethical discussion of the new technology today grouped under the name Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART). This is a moral imperative because each of us must decide what is to be considered ethically acceptable in assisted reproduction. Reflecting on the ethical dimension of ‘creating’ a new human life can play a major role in ensuring that in eac...

Which Tissue Should Be Removed in Upper Blepharoplasty? Analysis and Evaluation of Satisfaction

BACKGROUND Due to various options for tissue resection and preoperative markings, many different reports on aesthetics and patient’s satisfaction exist. To assess differences among tissue resections and risk factors, we herein analyzed satisfaction levels of patients that underwent upper blepharoplasty. METHODS A retrospective analysis during the period from January 2006 to June 2013 w...