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. 2021 Feb 3;21:278. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10162-8

Table 9.

Software for fitting meta-analysis models (full references in bibliography)

Method Software options Additional guidance (authors and reference number)
Network Plots Stata: networkplotfrom the mvmeta package [39] Chaimani et al. (2013) [40]
R: netgraph command in netmeta [41], gemtc [42], pcnetmeta [43]
Rucker and Schwarzer (2016) [44]
Network Meta-Analysis WinBUGS: flexible modelling framework, model code available from the Univerisity of Bristol website (https://www.bristol. ac.uk/population-health-sciences/ centres/cresyda/mpes/code/). Welton et al. (2012) [45], Dias and Caldwell (2019) [17]
Dias et al. [46]
R2WinBUGS [47], BUGSnet [48]
R: netgraph command in netmeta [41], gemtc [42], pcnetmeta [43] [27], Neupane et al. (2014) [49]
Stata: mvmeta package [50] Chaimani and Salanti (2015) [51], Chaimani et al. (2013) [40]
Webtools: MetaInsight [52], MetaDTA [53] and CINeMA [54]
Network Meta-Regression WinBUGS: can utilise study level covariates from NMA models, model code available from the Univerisity of Bristol website (https://www.bristol. ac.uk/population-health-sciences/ centres/cresyda/mpes/code/).
Stata: metareg command, mvmeta package
R: mvmeta package, metafor package [55], GeMTC package [42]
IPD Meta-Analysis WinBUGS: inclusion of IPD and aggregated data model available in paper by Saramago et al. (2012) [21] Freeman et al. (2018) [24], Freeman and Carpenter (2017) [56], Riley et al. (2008) [57]
Debray et al. (2015) [58], Tierney et al. (2015) [59]
PRISMA-IPD checklist [60]
Component Network Meta-Analysis WinBUGS: component NMA model code available from the Univerisity of Bristol website (https://www.bristol. ac.uk/population-health-sciences/ centres/cresyda/mpes/code/). Welton et al. (2009) [11]
R: The additive model can be implemented using the discomb command in the frequentist netmeta package [41]
Higgins et al. (2019) [2], Caldwell and Welton (2016) [5]
Melendez-Torres et al. (2015) [6]
Inclusion of covariates in component NMA models by Freeman et al. (2018) [24]