Avoiding Definitive Conclusions in Meta-analyses of Heterogeneous Small-Sample Studies
Meta-analysis has been actively used as a powerful tool to combine data from different studies in the research of head and neck diseases. However, the results of a meta-analysis should be interpreted with caution, especially when the general study sample sizes are small (<30 patients per group) or when the number of studies included is few (≤5 studies).1,2 In the rare case when both conditions occur, definitive conclusions should be avoided unless the evidence was homogeneous and consistent across all eligible studies.
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