Ferrer R L
Department of Family Practice, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, USA.
Fam Med. 1998 Sep;30(8):579-83.
The trustworthiness of meta-analysis, a set of techniques used to quantitatively combine results from different studies, has recently been questioned. Problems with meta-analysis stem from bias in selecting studies to include in a meta-analysis and from combining study results when it is inappropriate to do so. Simple graphical techniques address these problems but are infrequently applied. Funnel plots display the relationship of effect size versus sample size and help determine whether there is likely to have been selection bias in including studies in the meta-analysis. The L'Abbé plot displays the outcomes in both the treatment and control groups of included studies and helps to decide whether the studies are too heterogeneous to appropriately combine into a single measure of effect.
荟萃分析是一组用于定量合并不同研究结果的技术，其可信度最近受到了质疑。荟萃分析的问题源于在选择纳入荟萃分析的研究时存在偏差，以及在不适合合并研究结果时进行合并。简单的图形技术可以解决这些问题，但很少被应用。漏斗图展示了效应大小与样本量之间的关系，并有助于确定在纳入荟萃分析的研究中是否可能存在选择偏倚。L'Abbé图展示了纳入研究的治疗组和对照组的结果，并有助于判断这些研究是否过于异质，以至于无法适当地合并为单一的效应量度。
