Development of the summary of findings table for network meta-analysis

Juan José Yepes-Nuñez; Shelly-Anne Li; Gordon Guyatt; Susan M Jack; Jan L Brozek; Joseph Beyene; M Hassan Murad; Bram Rochwerg; Lawrence Mbuagbaw; Yuan Zhang; Ivan D Flórez; Reed A Siemieniuk; Behnam Sadeghirad; Reem Mustafa; Nancy Santesso; Holger J Schünemann

doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.04.018

Development of the summary of findings table for network meta-analysis

J Clin Epidemiol. 2019 Nov:115:1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.04.018. Epub 2019 May 2.

Authors

Juan José Yepes-Nuñez¹, Shelly-Anne Li², Gordon Guyatt³, Susan M Jack⁴, Jan L Brozek³, Joseph Beyene⁵, M Hassan Murad⁶, Bram Rochwerg³, Lawrence Mbuagbaw⁵, Yuan Zhang⁵, Ivan D Flórez⁷, Reed A Siemieniuk⁵, Behnam Sadeghirad⁵, Reem Mustafa⁸, Nancy Santesso⁵, Holger J Schünemann⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada; School of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 7 No. 116 - 05, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia.
² University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
³ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
⁴ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada; School of Nursing, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.
⁶ Mayo Clinic, Evidence-Based Practice Center, 200 1st Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
⁷ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada; Department of Pediatrics, University of Antioquia, Calle 70 No. 52 - 21, Medellín, Colombia.
⁸ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada; Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA.
⁹ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. Electronic address: schuneh@mcmaster.ca.

PMID: 31055177
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.04.018

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of the study was to develop a Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) summary of findings (SoF) table format that displays the critical information from a network meta-analysis (NMA).

Study design and setting: We applied a user experience model for data analysis based on four rounds of semistructured interviews.

Results: We interviewed 32 stakeholders who conduct or use MA. Four rounds of interviews produced six candidate NMA-SoF tables. Users found a final NMA-SoF table that included the following components highly acceptable: (1) details of the clinical question (PICO), (2) a plot depicting network geometry, (3) relative and absolute effect estimates, (4) certainty of evidence, (5) ranking of treatments, and (6) interpretation of findings.

Conclusion: Using stakeholder feedback, we developed a new GRADE NMA-SoF table that includes the relevant components that facilitate understanding NMA findings and health decision-making.

Keywords: Certainty of evidence; Decision-making; GRADE; Network meta-analysis; Summary of findings; Systematic reviews.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Abstracting and Indexing / methods
Decision Making
Evidence-Based Medicine
Humans
Information Dissemination / methods*
Network Meta-Analysis*
Research Report / standards