Effects of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Antibodies in Adults With Hypercholesterolemia
Authors: John E. Cornell, Cynthia D. Mulrow
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2015)

Letters4 August 2015Effects of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 Antibodies in Adults With HypercholesterolemiaJohn E. Cornell, PhD and Cynthia D. Mulrow, MD, MScJohn E. Cornell, PhDFrom University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, and American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Search for more papers by this author and Cynthia D. Mulrow, MD, MScFrom University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, and American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L15-5118-3 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:Dr. Liakos and colleagues and Dr. Battaggia and associates raise questions about the statistical methods and approach that Dr. Navarese and coworkers used in their meta-analysis of the effects of PCSK9 antibodies to reduce cardiovascular and all-cause mortality among adults with hypercholesterolemia. The authors did, indeed, use the fixed-effects MH method with inverse variance weighting to summarize the data. The treatment-group continuity correction recommended by Sweeting and colleagues (1) was used to compensate for 0 events in the PCSK9 antibody or control group. Studies reporting 0 events in both groups were excluded from the analyses.Dr. Battaggia and ...References1. 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 Scholar2. 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 6 June 2015. Google Scholar3. Cainzos-Achirica M, Martin SS, Cornell JE, Mulrow CD, Guallar E. PCSK9 inhibitors: a new era in lipid-lowering treatment? Ann Intern Med. 2015;163:64-5. [PMID: 25915768] doi:10.7326/M15-0920 LinkGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: John E. Cornell, PhD; Cynthia D. Mulrow, MD, MScAffiliations: From University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, and American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L15-0305. 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 Alessandro Battaggia , Alberto Donzelli , and Maria Font 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 Alessandro Battaggia , Alberto Donzelli , and Maria Font Metrics 4 August 2015Volume 163, Issue 3Page: 242-243KeywordsAntibodiesAntibody productionClinical trialsDisclosureLipidsMorbidityMortalityStatistical methodsSystematic reviews ePublished: 4 August 2015 Issue Published: 4 August 2015 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2015 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...