ABSTRACT
Predictive ability of meta-analysis The first concerns the predictive ability of meta-analysis, namely the ability of a meta-analysis to predict the results of trials that may be done in the future.1 The research workers calculated relative risks for 30 meta-analyses of different interventions in perinatal medicine and compared the results with the results of the largest trial done in each intervention. Twenty-four of the 30 meta-analyses correctly predicted the direction of effect in the largest trial.
