PhD student: Cherifa Cheurfa
Title: Contribution of observational studies to network Meta-Analysis: the example of anaesthesiology
Supervisor: Isabelle Boutron, Anna Chaimani
Doctoral school: ED 393 Epidemiology and Biomedical Information Sciences, Université Paris Cité
Thesis topic:
The majority of network meta-analyses are limited to the synthesis of randomized trials. However, the synthesis of randomized and non-randomized evidence is interesting and beneficial. However, researchers are often skeptical about the synthesis of the two sources of evidence, with its significant methodological challenge. To date, there are only a handful of meta-analyses of networks that have attempted such a synthesis.
We will conduct a large-scale evaluation of the methods used in these reviews and, using the field of anesthesiology as an example, we will examine the requirements for expanding the inclusion criteria in observational studies.
Based on our findings, we will make recommendations for future network meta-analyses with similar characteristics.