A network meta-analysis can offer three distinct benefits, assuming a connected treatment network and credible transitivity in network meta-analysis.
- Comparisons without a direct trial. A path through common comparators permits an indirect treatment comparison of treatments that have never been randomized against one another.
- Greater precision. Combining consistent direct and indirect evidence can reduce the variance of a treatment-effect estimate and make more complete use of the trials than separate pairwise meta-analyses.
- Coherent decisions across many treatments. A joint statistical model estimates all relative effects on one scale, allowing treatment rankings and their uncertainty to inform a choice among several options rather than presenting disconnected pairs.
These are potential benefits, not guarantees: heterogeneous effect modifiers, inconsistent evidence, disconnected networks or imprecise rankings can defeat them.
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