Network meta-analyses and indirect treatment comparisons
Evidence-based decision making requires comparisons of all relevant competing treatments. In the absence of randomized controlled trials involving a direct comparison of all treatments of interest, indirect treatment comparisons and network meta-analyses provide useful evidence for carefully selecting the optimal treatment strategy. Mixed treatment comparisons are a special case of network meta-analysis which combine direct and indirect evidence for particular pairwise comparisons, thereby synthesizing more evidence than traditional meta-analyses.
Structured and targeted literature reviews
A structured and targeted literature review uses explicit methods to rapidly identify, select, critically appraise, qualitatively analyse and interpret key relevant research.
Systematic literature reviews
A systematic literature review uses systematic methods to identify, select, critically appraise, qualitatively analyse and interpret exhaustive relevant to the research question; the studies are identified, selected and critically appraised by two or more independent reviewers. Where appropriate and feasible, a quantitative analysis and a statistical summary, such as a meta-analysis, is performed.