The Course

Master the use of meta-analysis in cardio

Course Details

Course Directors

Savarese G, Orsini N

Background

Meta-analyses are published in international scientific journals and can be highly influential because their results constitute the pillars of medical guidelines. Over the last years, meta-analyses have become increasingly popular. Indeed, aggregated data meta-analyses do not require the availability of patient level datasets to conduct pooled analysis, and therefore researchers willing to address important research questions, even if without access to large trials datasets, can extract data from the available published literature to learn from multiple studies. Cons of this approach is that many low-quality meta-analyses are published, and often even important peer-reviewed journals are not able to correctly judge on the methodological quality of this type of study design.

Purpose

To provide the participants with all the knowledge and the tools to independently conduct and publish a meta-analysis or a systematic review on a high-impact factor journal.

Upcoming
Dates

Session 2

Module 1: May 9th 2023

Module 2: May 16th 2023

Module 3: May 26-28th 2023

Session 2

Module 1: September 28th 2022

Module 2: October 12th 2022

Module 3: Oct. 24th and 25th 2022

Module 4: November 9th 2022

Module 5: November 23th 2022

Module 6: December 5th 2022

Course
Structure

Module 1 –
Virtual
(3 hours)

• Introduction (Savarese G)
• Why to conduct a meta-analysis? (30 min)(Rosano G)
• How to conduct a meta-analysis: Literature search (2.5 hours)(Savarese G)

Savarese G
Rosano G

Module 2 –
Virtual
(3 hours)

• Methods – Theoretical concepts(statistical models, i.e. [fixed effect, random effects] measure of effects, test of hypothesis, confidence intervals, prediction intervals, heterogeneity, publication bias, subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis and meta-regression)

Orsini N
Savarese G

Module 3
2 full-days Face to Face event/Hybrid (for those who cannot travel)

Day 1 – Afternoon (3 hours)

• Hands on (3 hours):
1. Introduction and key elements of Stata
2. Create a dataset on Stata
3. Data checking
4. Estimatation and interpretation of the statistical models
5. Data visualization (Forest Plot)
6. Statistical assessment of heterogeneity

Day 2 – Morning

• Supervised lab (3 hours)

Day 2 – Afternoon (3 hours)

• Hands on (1.5 h):
1. Publication bias (Funnel plot)
2. Sensitivity analysis (Subgroup analysis and leave one out meta-analysis )
3. Meta-regression

• Supervised lab (1.5 hours)

Day 3 – Morning

• Inspiratory talks (chair Rosano)
1. Meta-analysis on SGLT2i in heart failure (Vaduganathan M)(20+10 min)
2. EMPEROR-Pooled (Anker S)(20+10 min)

• Critical appraisal of published meta-analyses (1 hour)(Savarese, Orsini and Rosano)
• How to write a meta-analysis (30 min)(Savarese)
• What to consider when publishing a scientific paper (Metra)

Orsini N
Savarese G
Rosano G
Anker S
Vaduganathan M

Participants

Course participants should have:

  • Course participants should have a background education in medicine or biomedicine or biostatistics.
  • Specific knowledge in cardiology is not required. Participants could be interested to different fields since the methodology will be applicable also to non-cardiovascular research.

Intended learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the participants will be able to:

  • Perform a well-structured literature search to be used for a meta-analysis or a systematic review
  • Extract data from published literature and prepare a dataset to be used for qualitative or quantitative analyses
  • Run a meta-analysis, including assessment of heterogeneity, meta-regression analysis, one study removed meta-analysis, assessment of publication bias, subgroup analyses
  • Write a manuscript which will fulfill all the requirements for reporting the results of a meta-analysis
  • Critically discuss published meta-analyses and systematic reviews

Teaching and learning tools

Participants will be provided with

  • A trial version of Stata software
  • Important reading material to facilitate learning
  • Power point presentations shown during the course

01.

Interact

Meet and learn from experts in the field of meta-analyses

02.

Mentoring

Receive training and personal guidance on your results

03.

Hybrid

In-person or Zoom sessions, along with some pre-recorded videos

Join Us for This Intensive Course
Boost Your Career With This Advanced Course On Meta Analyses
ENROLL NOW

Enter your email address to receive further information on the course.

STAY IN CONTACT