Network meta-analysis in psychiatric research: Opportunities and caveats.

Network meta-analysis is a methodology for comparing different treatments or modalities including both direct comparisons and indirect comparisons based on a common comparator. While this provides a wealth of opportunities in psychiatric research, both designing a network meta-analysis and interpreting the same requires meticulous care. This brief reports lists key features of a network meta-analysis and highlights the importance of careful interpretation with a few examples from recent psychiatric research.