title: Network meta-analysis for comparing treatment effects of multiple interventions: an introduction.
abstract: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized trials have long been important synthesis tools for guiding evidence-based medicine. More recently, network meta-analyses, an extension of traditional meta-analyses enabling the comparison of multiple interventions, use new statistical methods to incorporate clinical evidence from both direct and indirect treatment comparisons in a network of treatments and associated trials. There is a need to provide education to ensure that core methodological considerations underlying network meta-analyses are well understood by readers and researchers to maximize their ability to appropriately interpret findings and appraise validity. Network meta-analyses are highly informative for assessing the comparative effects of multiple competing interventions in clinical practice and are a valuable tool for health technology assessment and comparative effectiveness research.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacovigilance, Spanish Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency (AEMPS), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ferrán
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Catalá-López
authors.forename: Aurelio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tobías
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moher
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hutton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D001688:Biological Products / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D015233:Models, Statistical; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D001688:Biological Products