Systematic reviews of prognostic studies 4: quantitative synthesis and meta-analytical approaches

Article type
Authors
Moons K1, Debray T1, Hooft L2, Riley R3, Altman D4, Williams K5, Woolfenden S6, Hayden J7
1Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care
2Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care , The Netherlands
3University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
4Centre for Statistics in Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
5University of Melbourne, Australia
6Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, Australia
7Dalhousie University, Canada
Abstract
Objectives: This workshop introduces participants to statistical methods for meta-analysis of the accuracy of a specific prediction model and of the added value of a specific predictor to an existing model. We discuss opportunities/challenges of the statistical methods and of common software packages.
Description: Prediction models are commonly developed and validated for predicting the presence (diagnostic) or future occurrence (prognostic) of a particular outcome. Prediction models have become abundant in the literature. Many models have been validated in numerous different studies/publications. Also, numerous studies investigate the added value of a certain predictor/biomarker to a specific existing prediction model. In both situations, aggregating such evidence is important for making inferences on the predictive accuracy of a specific model or predictor/marker. Meta-analytical approaches for both situations, have recently been developed.
In this workshop we illustrate these statistical approaches and how to combine – quantitatively – results from published studies on the predictive accuracy of a specific model or added predictive accuracy of a specific predictor. We illustrate this with various empirical examples.