Infective endocarditis after the transcatheter method compared to surgical pulmonary valve replacement: A meta-analysis study-What is meta analysis?

Abstract

In recent years, the number of scientific studies has been rapidly increasing, and accordingly, different results are often encountered in independent studies on a specific subject. Comprehensive and reliable studies are needed to interpret this body of information and lead to new studies. Meta-analyses, frequently encountered in international scientific medical journals, offer this opportunity by statistically combining the results of multiple studies, and they are considered the highest level of evidence when the results of highquality randomized trials are suitably combined.[1] In a meta-analysis, which is a quantitative method based on combining the findings obtained from different studies, the data are not combined, and a common result is tried to be reached with the help of statistical inferences. Researchers try to estimate valid and reliable parameters with minimum variance regarding the subject they are investigating. Furthermore, they try to increase the sample size and precision of parameter estimations. This technique can prove useful when there are several similar clinical trials with or without consistent outcomes or when there are smaller to medium-sized trials with inconclusive results.