STRATEGIES FOR ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS OF MEDICAL RESEARCH

Abstract

Using an evidence-based approach to practice requires "integrating the best evidence from research with
clinical experience and patient values", where the best evidence can be gathered from randomized controlled trials,
systematic reviews and meta-analyzes. The amount of research published in the biomedical literature, especially in
healthcare, has increased many times over the recent decades. This vast abundance of literature makes clinical
medicine increasingly complex and often requires knowledge from various studies to make a specific clinical
decision. However, the available studies are often heterogeneous in terms of their design, operational quality, and
research topics, and may address the research issue in different ways, which increases the complexity of the
evidence and the synthesis of conclusions. The systematic review is a set of strategies for analysis and synthesis of
the research literature on a given problem, while eliminating or limiting the impact of systematic error in individual
studies and the data obtained from them. This evidence assessment tool is based on a clearly sound, understandable,
and repeatable methodology aimed at critically analyzing, understanding, and explaining the available differences in
scientific evidence on the specific research topic. This activity is complex and largely depends on what clinical trials
are available, how they were performed (the quality of the study) and the health outcomes that are measured. Metaanalysis
is a statistical technique for analyzing a large, complex, and sometimes contradictory amount of literature,
the results of which are most often used to assess the effectiveness of different types of treatment. Conducting
systematic reviews and meta-analyzes in medicine and healthcare can be difficult, especially for young researchers;
therefore, understanding the basic steps is crucial. The aim of the present study is to acquaint with the main stages in
conducting systematic reviews in accordance with the accepted international requirements for methodology.