Evidence-based Urology: Understanding Heterogeneity in Systematic Reviews

Angie K Puerto Nino; Henk van der Worp; Kari A O Tikkinen; Gordon H Guyatt; Marco H Blanker

doi:10.1016/j.euf.2021.09.024

Evidence-based Urology: Understanding Heterogeneity in Systematic Reviews

Eur Urol Focus. 2021 Nov;7(6):1234-1236. doi: 10.1016/j.euf.2021.09.024. Epub 2021 Oct 26.

Authors

Angie K Puerto Nino¹, Henk van der Worp², Kari A O Tikkinen³, Gordon H Guyatt⁴, Marco H Blanker²

Affiliations

¹ Translational Research Program, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Electronic address: apuertonino@gmail.com.
² Department of General Practice and Elderly Care Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
³ Department of Urology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Surgery, South Karelian Central Hospital, Lappeenranta, Finland.
⁴ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada; Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.

PMID: 34711529
DOI: 10.1016/j.euf.2021.09.024

Abstract

Variability in the results of randomized trials presents challenges to the interpretation and application of the evidence to patient care. Understanding how systematic reviews deal with this problem of "heterogeneity" will help clinicians in applying results in their patient management. This manuscript offers a review of heterogeneity from the clinical urological perspective. PATIENT SUMMARY: Systematic reviews of the literature are necessary to accurately summarize the available evidence to inform clinical decisions. In this mini-review, we explain how to understand and deal with the differences between studies-which we call heterogeneity-included in these types of reviews.

Keywords: Evidence-based medicine; Heterogeneity; Systematic review.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Systematic Reviews as Topic
Urology*