Table 3.
Summary of the meta-analysis.
| Outcome | No. of Studies | No. of Patients |
Conventional Meta-Analysis | Trial Sequential Analysis | NNT | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RR or WMD, with 95% CI | Heterogeneity (I2/τ) | Conventional Test Boundary | Monitoring Boundary | RIS | ||||
| Sedation success | 7 | 1502 | Not significant (RR 0.999, 95% CI 0.995–1.003) |
0.0/0.000 | Not cross | Not cross | Exceed RIS (1502 of 599 patients) Enter futility border |
Not significant (NNTH: 96; 95% CI NNTH 56 to ∞ NNTB 351) |
| Hypoxemia | 6 | 1422 | Significant (RR 0.302, 95% CI 0.187–0.489) |
20.595/0.573 | Cross | Cross | 36.0% (1422 of 3951 patients) | Significant (NNTB: 13; 95% CI NNTB 10 to NNTB 20) |
| Hypotension | 6 | 1422 | Significant (RR 0.477, 95% CI 0.330–0.690) |
72.634/0.593 | Cross | Cross | 53.6% (1422 of 2654 patients) | Significant (NNTB: 5; 95% CI NNTB 4 to NNTB 6) |
| Bradycardia | 5 | 1323 | Significant (RR 0.396, 95% CI 0.249–0.631) |
47.484/0.722 | Coss | Not cross | 22.6% (1323 of 5851 patients) | Significant (NNTB: 16; 95% CI NNTB 11 to NNTB 29) |
| Respiratory depression | 4 | 838 | Significant (RR 0.347, 95% CI 0.183–0.659) |
0.0/0.000 | Cross | Not cross | 26.9% (838 of 3118 patients) | Significant (NNTB: 17; 95% CI NNTB 11 to NNTB 36) |
| Time to LOC | 4 | 952 | Significant (WMD 5.385, 95% CI 2.082–8.689) | 65.420/1.641 | Cross | Cross | 99.5% (952 of 957 patients) | NR |
| Recovery time | 4 | 922 | Not significant (WMD 0.573, 95% CI −0.705 to 1.851) |
83.050/1.080 | Not cross | Not cross | 46.8% (922 of 1968 patients) | NR |
| Injection pain | 4 | 838 | Significant (RR 0.207, 95% CI 0.074–0.579) |
2.823/0.628 | Cross | Not cross | 3.8% (838 of 22,319 patients) | Not significant (NNTB: 428; 95% CI NNTH 86 to ∞ NNTB 61) |
| Dizziness/headache | 4 | 822 | Not significant (RR 0.726, 95% CI 0.419–1.257) |
0.0/0.000 | Not cross | Not cross | 17.2% (822 of 4774 patients) | Not significant (NNTB: 60; 95% CI NNTH 77 to ∞ NNTB 21) |
| PONV | 4 | 1039 | Not significant (RR 1.411, 95% CI 0.778–2.559) |
0.0/0.000 | Not cross | Not cross | 10.4% (1039 of 9973 patients) | Not significant (NNTH: 74; 95% CI NNTH 28 to ∞ NNTB 111) |
No., number; RR, relative risk; WMD, weighted mean difference; CI, confidence interval; LOC, loss of consciousness; PONV, postoperative nausea and vomiting; NNT, number needed to treat; RIS, required information size; NNTH, number needed to treat harm; NNTB, number needed to treat benefit; NR, not reported.