Addressing multimorbidity in evidence integration and synthesis

Area of Science:

• Medical Research Methodology
• Evidence Synthesis
• Clinical Practice Guidelines

Background:

• Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for patients with multiple conditions often lack sufficient evidence synthesis.
• Deficiencies in primary studies and systematic reviews hinder the development of evidence-based CPGs for multimorbidity.
• Treatment effect heterogeneity in relation to multimorbidity is often not adequately reported in published studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide recommendations for improving systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
• To enhance the applicability of evidence syntheses to the care of patients with multiple conditions.
• To inform the development of better clinical practice guidelines for multimorbidity.

Main Methods:

• Informal group process to build upon established guidance.
• Development of specific recommendations for systematic reviews.
• Focus on addressing challenges in synthesizing primary literature for multimorbidity.

Main Results:

• Proposed additional recommendations for systematic reviews to improve CPGs for multimorbid patients.
• Acknowledged that recommendations vary in importance, validity, and feasibility.
• Identified the need for further work to test and refine recommendations.

Conclusions:

• Implementing the suggested recommendations is considered good practice for evidence synthesis in multimorbidity.
• Further research is necessary to validate and optimize the proposed recommendations.
• Improved evidence synthesis is crucial for effective clinical practice guidelines in managing multiple conditions.