lfkindex function

LFK Index Test for Asymmetry

Implementation of the LFK index test proposed by Furuya-Kanamori et al. (2018) to evaluate bias in meta-analysis.

lfkindex(TE, seTE, data = NULL)

## S3 method for class 'lfkindex'
print(x, digits = 2, ...)

Arguments

• TE: An object of class meta or estimated treatment effect in individual studies.
• seTE: Standard error of estimated treatment effect (mandatory if TE not of class meta).
• data: An optional data frame containing the study information.
• x: An object of class lfkindex.
• digits: Minimal number of significant digits, see print.default.
• ...: Additional arguments (ignored).

Returns

An object of class "lfkindex" with corresponding print function. The object is a list containing the following components:

• lfkindex: LFK index.

• interpretation: Interpretation of value of LFK index.

• abs.zscore: Absolute value of z-score.

• N, MidRank, percentile, zscore: Quantities used to calculate LFK index.

• TE, seTE: Estimated treatment effect, standard error.

• version: Version of R package metasens used to create object.

Examples

# Example from Furuya-Kanamori et al. (2018)
#
pain <- data.frame(SMD = c(-4.270, -1.710, -0.580, -0.190, 0.000),
                   varSMD = c(0.158,  0.076,  0.018,  0.022, 0.040))

lfk.pain <- lfkindex(SMD, sqrt(varSMD), data = pain)
lfk.pain

doiplot(lfk.pain)

References

Furuya-Kanamori L, Barendregt JJ, Doi SAR (2018): A new improved graphical and quantitative method for detecting bias in meta-analysis. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 16 , 195--203

See Also

doiplot, metabias, funnel.meta

Author(s)

Gerta Rücker gerta.ruecker@uniklinik-freiburg.de , Guido Schwarzer guido.schwarzer@uniklinik-freiburg.de