title: Individual patient data meta-analysis is needed in Chinese medical research.
abstract: Publication biases and collection limitations are the main disadvantages of a traditional meta-analysis based on aggregate patient data (APD) from published articles. Individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis, as the gold standard of systematic review, is a possible alternative in this context. However, the publications relative to IPD meta-analyses are still rare compared with the traditional ones, especially in the research oriented to Chinese medicine (CM). In this article, the strengths and detailed functioning of IPD meta-analysis are described. Furthermore, the need for IPD meta-analysis to assess the treatments based on CM was also discussed. Compared with the traditional APD meta-analysis, the IPD meta-analysis might give a more accurate and unbiased assessment and is worth to be recommended to CM researchers.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100700, China.
authors.forename: Shi-Yan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Li-Yun
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Bao-Yan
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D006801:Humans; D010361:Patients