A brief introduction of meta‐analyses in clinical practice and research

作者：Xiao‐Meng Wang, Xi‐Ru Zhang, Zhihao Li, Wen‐Fang Zhong, Pei Yang, Chen Mao · 发表于：The Journal of Gene Medicine · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1002/jgm.3312 · 被引用次数：45 · 研究领域：Meta-analysis and systematic reviews、Health Sciences Research and Education、Clinical practice guidelines implementation

With the explosive growth of medical information, it is almost impossible for healthcare providers to review and evaluate all relevant evidence to make the best clinical decisions. Meta-analyses, which summarize all existing evidence and quantitatively synthesize individual studies, have become the best available evidence for informing clinical practice. This article introduces the common methods, steps, principles, strengths and limitations of meta-analyses and aims to help healthcare providers and researchers obtain a basic understanding of meta-analyses in clinical practice and research.