West R R
University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff.
J R Coll Physicians Lond. 1993 Apr;27(2):111-5.
In essence, the statistical overview (or meta-analysis) does little more than many medical scientists and practising clinicians have been attempting for years: estimating the average size of an effect from an apparently disparate medical literature. The statistical overview provides a method of pooling the results of comparable trials (or observational studies) which, on their own, may be too small to demonstrate a 'statistically significant' effect. The role for the overview is obvious, the method is relatively simple, but the findings have to be interpreted cautiously, since joining the hypothesis post hoc contravenes one of the essential principles of scientific enquiry. The use of the statistical overview and some of its pros and cons are illustrated in four clinical examples.
从本质上讲，统计综述（或荟萃分析）只不过是许多医学科学家和临床执业医师多年来一直在尝试做的事情：从看似分散的医学文献中估计效应的平均大小。统计综述提供了一种汇总可比试验（或观察性研究）结果的方法，这些试验（或研究）单独来看可能规模太小，无法证明有“统计学显著”效应。综述的作用显而易见，方法相对简单，但对研究结果的解释必须谨慎，因为事后加入假设违背了科学探究的一项基本原则。统计综述的使用及其一些优缺点在四个临床实例中得到了说明。
