A failed attempt to conduct an individual patient data meta-analysis

Gerald J Jaspers, Pieter L J Degraeuwe*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

A study-level meta-analysis has shown that proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a promising prognostic marker in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. An individual patient data meta-analysis could yield a prognostic tool with improved accuracy enabling well-founded clinical decisions. Our request to share patient data remained unanswered by five out of 18 research groups. Another four declined collaboration for various reasons, including own reanalysis of the data, and lack of parental consent. With less than 40% of the individual patient data available, we refrained from pursuing the proposed study. As future patients may benefit from it, policies mandating data sharing should be introduced.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)97
JournalSystematic Reviews
Volume3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

Keywords

  • Decision Making
  • Humans
  • Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Information Dissemination
  • Medical Records
  • Meta-Analysis as Topic
  • Neuroimaging
  • Withholding Treatment

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