title: Importance of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in pediatric nutrition.
abstract: To address information overload, systematic methods have been developed to identify, assess, and synthesize information. This chapter provides an overview of the basic principles of systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, which are considered to be the best study design for answering questions about the effectiveness of an intervention. It also discusses the problems and limitations of using a meta-analytical approach. As the number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses is increasing rapidly, also in the field of pediatric nutrition, it is essential that the strengths as well as the limitations and caveats of this approach are well understood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, The Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Hania
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Szajewska
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012196:Review Literature as Topic