Effects of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Antibodies in Adults With Hypercholesterolemia
Authors: Alessandro Battaggia, Alberto Donzelli, Maria Font
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2015)

Letters4 August 2015Effects of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Antibodies in Adults With HypercholesterolemiaAlessandro Battaggia, MD, Alberto Donzelli, MD, and Maria Font, PharmDAlessandro Battaggia, MDFrom Infofarma Unità Locale Sociosanitaria 20, Verona, Italy, and Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Milano, Milan, Italy.Search for more papers by this author, Alberto Donzelli, MDFrom Infofarma Unità Locale Sociosanitaria 20, Verona, Italy, and Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Milano, Milan, Italy.Search for more papers by this author, and Maria Font, PharmDFrom Infofarma Unità Locale Sociosanitaria 20, Verona, Italy, and Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Milano, Milan, Italy.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L15-5118-2 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Navarese and colleagues' meta-analysis (1) suggests that PCSK9 antibodies provide large benefits and decrease deaths in hypercholesterolemic adults. Unfortunately, the Data Synthesis and Statistical Analysis section omits details about the pooling and continuity correction method that was used (namely, the management of 0 cells when calculating the OR).To reach the published results (OR for all-cause mortality, 0.45 [CI, 0.23 to 0.86]), the authors probably used a combination of the Woolf fixed-effect–based method and the treatment-group continuity correction suggested for 0 cells (2), excluding the 0-total-event trials. We disagree with the inverse variance Woolf method used for ...References1. Navarese EP, Kolodziejczak M, Schulze V, Gurbel PA, Tantry U, Lin Y, et al. Effects of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 antibodies in adults with hypercholesterolemia A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2015;163:40-51. [PMID: 25915661] doi:10.7326/M14-2957 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Sweeting MJ, Sutton AJ, Lambert PC. What to add to nothing? Use and avoidance of continuity corrections in meta-analysis of sparse data. Stat Med. 2004;23:1351-75. [PMID: 15116347] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Higgins JPT, Green S, eds. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Version 5.1.0. The Cochrane Collaboration. 2011. Accessed at www.cochrane-handbook.org on 15 May 2015. Google Scholar4. Savarese G, Perrone-Filardi P, D'Amore C, Vitale C, Trimarco B, Pani L, et al. Cardiovascular effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors in diabetic patients: a meta-analysis. Int J Cardiol. 2015;181:239-44. [PMID: 25528528] doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2014.12.017 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Infofarma Unità Locale Sociosanitaria 20, Verona, Italy, and Azienda Sanitaria Locale di Milano, Milan, Italy.Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterest Forms.do?msNum=L15-0306. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoEffects of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Antibodies in Adults With Hypercholesterolemia Eliano Pio Navarese , Michalina Kołodziejczak , Volker Schulze , Paul A. Gurbel , Udaya Tantry , Yingfeng Lin , Maximilian Brockmeyer , David E. Kandzari , Julia M. Kubica , Ralph B. D'Agostino Sr. , Jacek Kubica , Massimo Volpe , Stefan Agewall , Dean J. Kereiakes , and Malte Kelm Effects of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Antibodies in Adults With Hypercholesterolemia Aris Liakos , Eleni Athanasiadou , Maria Mainou , Eleni Bekiari , Anna Bettina Haidich , Evangelos C. Rizos , and Apostolos Tsapas Effects of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Antibodies in Adults With Hypercholesterolemia John E. Cornell and Cynthia D. Mulrow Effects of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Antibodies in Adults With Hypercholesterolemia Aris Liakos , Eleni Athanasiadou , Maria Mainou , Eleni Bekiari , Anna Bettina Haidich , Evangelos C. Rizos , and Apostolos Tsapas Effects of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Antibodies in Adults With Hypercholesterolemia John E. Cornell and Cynthia D. 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