The true burden of heart failure among multiple sclerosis patients: Addressing potential publication bias

Abstract

Publication bias is a potential source of concern in many of the meta-analyses published in contemporary literature. A new, improved method of detection of publication bias, the Doi plot, has several advantages over its counterpart, the funnel plot. The Doi plot can accurately assess publication bias even when the number of studies is less than ten, and when pooling proportions. Additionally, the utility of Google Scholar as a supplementary database to identify relevant studies and gray literature needs to be highlighted due to its indexation of large volumes of articles.