Get With the Program! Software Tools to Modernize Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses

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Slide 1

Get with the Program!

Software tools to modernize systematic reviews and meta-analyses

Joseph Lau, MD
Byron Wallace, PhD
Nira Hadar, MS

Tufts EPC / Brown EPC

Slide 2

Some statistics about EPC evidence reports and comparative effectiveness reviews

• Average time to complete ~15 months.
• 2 to 3 person-years (5-7 team members) of effort.
• $300K+.
• Screen 5,000 to 10,000 abstracts (one Tufts EPC report screened >30,000 abstracts).
• Include 100+ full text articles.

Slide 3

18,000 citations were screened for the cancer pain evidence report

Image: A photograph shows stacks of paper with yellow stick-on notes.

Slide 4

Allen IE, Olkin I. Estimating time to conduct a meta-analysis from number of citations retrieved. JAMA 1999;282:634-35.

Image: A graph shows the number of citations retrieved for analysis by total hours required to complete the meta-analysis.

Slide 5

Impetus to modernize SR methods

• SR now 30 years old, however, most steps remain largely manual processes.
• More requirements (stakeholder engagement), new standards (IOM report) to meet.
• Powerful statistical methods appear but few are trained to implement them.
• EPC program now 15 years old, time and $$ to complete reports have increased.
• Desire for more, quicker turnaround, less costs.
• Reports often need to be updated.
• Unavoidable replications across the globe.

Slide 6

Image: A series of text boxes show the following steps in the process:

• Prepare topic:
  • Refine key questions.
  • Develop analytic frameworks.
• Search for and select studies:
  • Identify eligibility criteria.
  • Search for relevant studies.
  • Select evidence for inclusion.
• Abstract data:
  • Extract evidence from studies
  • Construct evidence tables.
• Analyze and synthesize data:
  • Assess quality of studies.
  • Assess applicability of studies.
  • Apply qualitative methods.
  • Apply quantitative methods (meta-analysis).
  • Rate the strength of a body of evidence.
• Present findings.

Slide 7

Software tools developed by investigators at Tufts EPC / Brown EPC

• Abstrakr (R01, T. Trikalinos)—abstract screening.
• OpenMeta-analyst (R01, C. Schmid)—Powerful software to perform meta-analyses.
• SRDR (Tufts EPC)—Systematic Review Data Repository.

• All currently available.
• Open access software to facilitate conduct of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
• Funded by AHRQ.