American Board of Surgery Qualifying Exam (ABS QE) Practice Test

What does a meta-analytic study aim to achieve?

1. To provide a qualitative narrative of individual cases

2. To combine results from multiple studies to analyze common effects

3. To study a single patient's unique outcome

4. To assess the effectiveness of one treatment over another

The correct answer is: To combine results from multiple studies to analyze common effects

A meta-analytic study aims to combine results from multiple studies to analyze common effects, making it a powerful tool in evidence-based research. By aggregating data across various studies, it enhances statistical power and allows for more reliable conclusions about the effectiveness or outcomes of a particular intervention or treatment. This method is particularly valuable when individual studies might have small sample sizes or varying results. By pooling the data, a meta-analysis can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of a treatment or intervention, revealing overall trends that might not be evident in single studies. It often involves rigorous statistical methods to assess the degree of variability between studies and helps to identify consistent patterns or disparities in findings. In contrast, the other choices focus on singular or qualitative assessments. A qualitative narrative of individual cases captures personal experiences but does not aggregate data across studies; studying a single patient's outcome is inherently limited in scope; assessing one treatment over another, while potentially informative, may not be comprehensive without the broader context provided by multiple studies.