When trying to synthesize information from multiple sources and perform a statistical review to compare them, particularly in the medical research field, several statistical tools are available, most common are the systematic review and the meta-analysis. These techniques allow the comparison of the effectiveness or success among a group of studies. However, a problem of these tools is that if ...

PURPOSE Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is a common complication after gynecological surgeries. This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of dexmedetomidine on PONV after gynecological surgeries. METHODS Three main electronic databases including Pub Med, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched by ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Prediction of short- and long-term prognosis is an important issue in acute stroke care. This metaanalysis explores the prognostic value of initial bed-side transcranial ultrasound in acute stroke. METHODS All studies prospectively applying TCCS or TCD within 24 hours of symptom onset in acute stroke, with a minimal cohort size of 20 patients, and reporting clinical out...

Deriving reliable empirical results from a single experiment is an unlikely event. Hence to progress multiple experiments must be undertaken per hypothesis and the subsequent results e ectively combined to produce a single reliable conclusion. Since results are quantitative in nature, a quantitative conclusion would be the optimal solution. Other disciplines use meta-analytic techniques to achi...

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown a positive treatment effect of individualized homeopathic treatment for acute childhood diarrhea, but sample sizes were small and results were just at or near the level of statistical significance. Because all three studies followed the same basic study design, the combined data from these three studies were analyzed to obtain greater statistical power. ...

Statins have been suggested to prevent prostate cancer. Our aim was to examine statin use in relation to both total prostate cancer and the more clinically important advanced prostate cancer, through a detailed metaanalysis of the epidemiologic studies published on the subject in peer-reviewed literature. A comprehensive search for articles published up to November 2007 was performed, reviews o...