Meta-analysis

Healthcare professionals are faced with important decisions every day that can mean the difference between life and death. Clinicians use evidence from research, clinical expertise and patient’s preferences to make clinical decisions. Often, the available evidence is so vast that finding the appropriate course of action becomes a daunting process. Consequently, the critical appraisal of evidence has become a valuable skill to clinicians. Evidence is ranked in a hierarchy system. The highest level of evidence include systematic reviews, which are a compilation of studies that address a particular clinical question (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2015, p. 11). This essay will present a critique of a systematic review and meta-analysis. The systematic review used for this critique discusses the risk factors associated with intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome among adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) have being linked to increased mortality within intensive care patients. Unfortunately, the risk factors proposed by the World Society of the Abdominal Compartment Syndrome are mostly based on opinion or pathophysiology (Holodinsky et al., 2013). Consequently, a systematic review of the multiple studies published was needed to determine evidence-based risks associated with IAH or ACS. Discussion Holodinsky et al. (2013) developed a search and inclusion protocol…

The authors used a funnel plot, (which is a statistical way to identify publication bias) and concluded that no meta-analysis presented serious publication bias according to the GRADE approach. Egger and Smith (1998) highlight that studies with significant results have a higher tendency to be published or cited, another danger of publication bias is the inclusion of studies only in the English language, however in Machado et al (2015) there were no restrictions on languages or publication dates…

approach optimised access to a diverse range of relevant information (Robb & Shellenbarger, 2014). To further narrow the results, key combination words such as cannula, intravenous, nursing, infection, catheter, peripheral, phlebitis and management were entered for scanning. Although challenges were indicated with authors using the terms catheter and cannula interchangeably, once apparent, a wider range of articles were retrieved. Furthermore, searches performed on databases was achieved with…

effect of early mobilization in the mechanically ventilated patient. Literature review. Literature search was completed using a comprehensive Google Scholar search using terms: “Early ambulation intubated patients”, “Early ambulation ICU intubated patients”, “Early ambulation ICU ventilated patients”, “Effects of early ambulation intubated patients”, “Effects of early ambulation mechanically ventilated patients”, “Mechanically ventilated patient early ambulation outcomes”, “Systematic Review…

1. What is meta-analysis? Why is it useful? Meta-analysis is the analysis of statistical results from multiple common scientific studies. It is very useful because it combines the results to develop a common truth of support behind those multiple results. The results from a single study may contain high error levels that would deem the study unreliable, as results vary from one study to the next. 2. What concepts from the commentary are found in the articles? The concept of motivation was…

A study found that the medial prefrontal cortex, a region in the brain that plays a role in romantic decision making, makes snap judgments about physical attraction and whether the person is likely to be a compatible match all within milliseconds of seeing a new face. In an fMRI Meta-analysis study by a Professor from Syracuse University, Stephanie Ortigue found that twelve areas in the brain work together to release euphoria educing chemicals like Dopamine, Oxgtocin, Adrenaline, and…

25. What is meta-analysis? Meta-analysis is a method used in psychology that analyzes the results of every research trial that is used within a certain subject to determine the effectiveness of a particular therapy (Weis, 2014) 26. Why are high rates of comorbidity considered to be a problem or limitation of the DSM-5? High rates of comorbidity, the diagnosis of several disorders, are considered to be a limitation of the DSM-5 because it reveals the extreme overlap in symptoms that are…

Viewpoint of the author: The author writes to answer the articles heading on “Is online education good or bad? And is this really the right question?”. He proposes that online education is neither a straight good or bad, rather a balanced analysis on both traditional and online education should be given. As shown below: “Enthusiasts of online courses say “of course it is good,” but I see this as a kind of “trick question.”” “In the same way that we can have good (and not so good)…

appearance. The melting point of the Meta-Methyl nitrobenzoate product formed was at 76.2 ‐ 78°C. The appearances of the TLC for the crude product, starting material and recrystallized appear to the similar; they all looked dark brown under the UV light. Also, their Rf values indicate that the recrystallized solute moved less distance compare to the crude product and started material. This suggests that the product made was Meta-Methyl nitrobenzoate even if it has little different melting point…

I: Summary “Meta-Analysis and the Psychology of Gender Differences” is an article written by Janet Shibley Hyde that was published in 1990. Though this article is dated, the information presented in it retains it’s relevance in the current culture. In this article, Hyde examines and meta-analyzes the history of research on gender differences in boys and girls. The earliest research and tests of gender differences attempted to confirm the claim that white males were evolutionary superior to…