Mastodon
Startpage Heidelberg University Hospital
Medical Biometry Research Systematic Reviews /…

Systematic Reviews / Meta-Analysis

Johannes Vey, M.Sc. (Head of the working group)
Prof. Dr. Meinhard Kieser
Junior Sinclair Awounvo Awounvo, M.Sc.
Amina Cheikh Rouhou, M.Sc.
Marie Merling, M.Sc.
Dr. Tanja Proctor
Samuel Zimmermann, M.Res

The working group "Systematic Reviews / Meta-Analysis" applies and develops statistical methods for evidence synthesis.

Systematic reviews provide an overview over a specific (medical) topic by systematically identifying and compiling results of multiple different research studies. They thus enable medical decision-making along the principles of evidence-based medicine.

Meta-analysis is a quantitative method that allows statistical synthesis of such research results. Applications of meta-analyses are highly diverse and range from the efficacy of specific (medical) interventions such as surgical procedures, drug therapies or diet changes, to diagnostic tools and prognostic models.

The research interest of our working group lies in methods for indirect comparisons, meta-analyses with biomarker subgroups and network meta-analyses with sparse networks. Research projects are often collaborations with other institutes on and off campus. 

Research interests:

  • Meta-Analysis and indirect comparisons for biomarker subgroups
  • Methods for indirect comparisons  
  • Network meta-analysis in sparse networks  

 

Examples for projects in the working group Systematic Reviews / Meta-Analysis

Participation in two Systematic Reviews of the Junior Research Group „Effects of physical activity and exercise on motor and cognitive performance in older adults“ with Dr. Schwenk. These systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigate two aspects of healthy aging. The Systematic Review (SR) EArly deals with prevention of infirmity that appears halfway through adult life. For this purpose, various sports and dietary interventions in this population group are searched, systematically processed and statistically summarized. The SR ENSuRE is concerned with whether intervention programs implemented through dietary changes or a specific nutritional program with elderly patients can slow down sarcopenia in old age. 

  • SR EArly (funding through BMBF 2020-2021) on the effect of physical activity and strength, balance ability, and falls in healthy adults aged 40-65 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
  • SR ENSuRE (funding through BMBF 2017-2019) to determine the effect of physical training and nutrition interventions on sarcopenia-associated outcomes.

Link: https://www.nar.uni-heidelberg.de/juniorforscher/ng_schwenk/index.html

Participation in Systematic Reviews of the Departement of Surgery of the University Medical Center Heidelberg, including systematic reviews regarding laproscopic and robot-assisted surgery. 

The use of robot-assisted surgery has made high precision operations in confined spaces possible. This development concerns interventions that can be performed in a minimally invasive manner. While the use of more complex robot-assisted surgery is not necessary for all kinds of surgery, it excels in complicated cases where improved mobility and visualization are crucial.

 

In cooperation with the working group "Systematic Reviews" of the Study Center of the German Society of Surgery (SDGC), we offer methodological consultations on statistical aspects of surgical reviews.

Projects in cooperation with Dr. Ronellenfitsch, University of Halle

  • Ongoing: A systematic review will consider preoperative chemoradiotherapy and preoperative chemotherapy compared with surgery without adjuvant therapy in adenocarcinoma of the esophagus and esophagogastric junction. These three treatment options will be analyzed with regard to their therapeutic success using individual patient data as well as aggregated data together in a network.
EN