EASYMA - A PROGRAM FOR THE METAANALYSIS OF CLINICAL-TRIALS

Meta-analysis of clinical trial data is an increasingly important meth od in clinical research, particulary in the field of therapeutic evalu ation. This method uses some specific statistical techniques which an not all available on standard packages and therefore require specific developments. This paper describes a program designed to help medical researchers perform meta-analyses of clinical trial data with dichotom ous outcomes, This program includes the various statistical methods of meta-analysis and enables cumulative meta-analysis and sub-groups to be performed. A robustness index can be determined and the results obt ained in table and graphic formats. Data-editing and data-manipulating facilities are also possible. Much care has been taken to make the us er interface as user-friendly as possible, so that the program is with in the reach of all medical researchers. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ire land Ltd.