2021 Annual Meeting Manuscript Lectures-Writing and Evaluating Systematic Reviews in Sports Medicine Research

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Tim shares his experience with applying for a hospital president role that involved a PowerPoint on finance and strategy, highlighting the value of clear communication. He then focuses on teaching reviewers how to analyze and critique systematic reviews and meta-analyses in medical research, particularly in orthopedic surgery. Systematic reviews synthesize evidence from multiple studies reproducibly, while meta-analyses quantitatively aggregate data, often sitting atop the evidence hierarchy even above randomized controlled trials. Key points include: crafting a focused research question, using rigorous inclusion/exclusion criteria, performing exhaustive literature searches to avoid publication bias, assessing heterogeneity among studies, and interpreting forest plots to understand combined effects. He discusses statistical challenges such as heterogeneity (variation between studies), the importance of choosing fixed vs. random-effects models, and statistical fragility related to p-values. He also covers newer methods like network meta-analysis for indirect comparisons, cluster effects in study populations, and the limitations of evidence levels, emphasizing that systematic reviews are only as strong as their included studies. Tim encourages reviewers to be diligent but reassures them that full statistical mastery isn't required to contribute effectively. He closes with resources for evaluating reviews and a call for thoughtful, informed peer review to advance scientific quality in orthopedic literature.

Asset Caption

Timothy Foster, M.D.

Keywords

hospital president application

PowerPoint finance strategy

systematic reviews

meta-analyses

orthopedic surgery research

statistical heterogeneity

network meta-analysis