Publikation

Network meta-analysis with integrated nested Laplace approximations

Wissenschaftlicher Artikel/Review - 11.09.2015

Bereiche
Schlagwörter (Tags)
Bayesian inference; Integrated nested Laplace approximations; Network meta-analysis; Node-splitting
PubMed
DOI
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Zitation
Sauter R, Held L. Network meta-analysis with integrated nested Laplace approximations. Biometrical Journal 2015; 57:1038-1050.
Art
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel/Review (Englisch)
Zeitschrift
Biometrical Journal 2015; 57
Veröffentlichungsdatum
11.09.2015
Seiten
1038-1050
Kurzbeschreibung/Zielsetzung

Analyzing the collected evidence of a systematic review in form of a network meta-analysis (NMA) enjoys increasing popularity and provides a valuable instrument for decision making. Bayesian inference of NMA models is often propagated, especially if correlated random effects for multiarm trials are included. The standard choice for Bayesian inference is Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling, which is computationally intensive. An alternative to MCMC sampling is the recently suggested approximate Bayesian method of integrated nested Laplace approximations (INLA) that dramatically saves computation time without any substantial loss in accuracy. We show how INLA apply to NMA models for summary level as well as trial-arm level data. Specifically, we outline the modeling of multiarm trials and inference for functional contrasts with INLA. We demonstrate how INLA facilitate the assessment of network inconsistency with node-splitting. Three applications illustrate the use of INLA for a NMA.