Official Git repository of R package mvnma
Theodoros Evrenoglou, Guido Schwarzer
mvnma is an R package that provides functions for Bayesian multivariate network meta-analysis (mvNMA). The mvNMA model supported by this package refers to the single correlation coefficient model, interpreted as an amalgam of within- and across-outcome correlations. In this way, the model does not depend on the extraction of within-study outcome correlations, which are seldom reported at the study level. The model assumption of consistency is checked using the node-splitting method. Treatment effect estimates and confidence intervals can be summarised both in terms of per-outcome treatment hierarchies and in terms of an across-outcomes benefit-risk assessment. The former is achieved using ranking methods such as SUCRA, probability of being the best treatment, and median (or mean) ranks, each accompanied by a credible interval. A benefit-risk assessment is possible through the VIKOR method. This approach, originally proposed in the field of multi-criteria decision analysis, uses a deterministic algorithm to derive an amalgamated treatment hierarchy across outcomes and to explicitly identify the set of treatments that offer the best compromise between benefits and harms across all outcomes. Since the output of the method relies on Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling, convergence can be assessed using a series of diagnostics, including trace plots, density plots, and the R-hat statistic. Finally, the package offers the option to visualise the results of the mvNMA model and consistency checks through forest plots, which display treatment effect estimates; scatter plots, which show per-outcome rankings for any pair of outcomes; and Hasse diagrams, which visualise the partial order of treatments across all outcomes, as well as alternative methods for deriving a between-outcomes hierarchy, such as the spie chart method.
release on GitHub:Installation using R package remotes:
install.packages("remotes")
remotes::install_github("TEvrenoglou/mvnma", ref = "develop")
bug.report(package = "mvnma")
The bug.report function is not supported in RStudio. Please send an email to Theodoros Evrenoglou <theodoros.evrenoglou@uniklinik-freiburg.de> if you use RStudio.
You can also report bugs on GitHub under Issues.