Critical appraisal of a meta-analysis on the effects of hormone replacement therapy on non-vertebral fractures and suggestions to increase the transparency of meta-analyses
Meyer, G.
Zeitschrift für Arztliche Fortbildung und Qualitatssicherung 96(10): 695-698
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 1431-7621 PMID: 12611057 Document Number: 550197
The present article discusses the difficulties in using data from a meta-analysis of the effects of hormone replacement therapy on non-vertebral fractures. Comparison between the fracture data extracted from the primary studies and the data included in the meta-analysis showed discrepancies for the primary endpoint in three out of 14 studies. Since the complex decision processes behind meta-analyses are often not transparent to the reader it is recommended to provide further details on decision processes for data collection, selection and inclusion criteria for unpublished data. This information could be made available on the website of the publishing journal.