Integrating meta-analysis and visual analysis to evaluate the validity of different therapies for patients with schizophrenia

Background: Meta-analysis and visual analysis were applied to evaluate the effectiveness of different therapies on the improvement of symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Methods PubMed, China Knowledge Network, Wan-fang, and the Cochrane Library were searched for articles published till June 2022. Relevant randomized trials were collected using search terms. Basic characteristics of patients, intervention protocols, and outcome indicators were extracted from the literature, and change values were calculated by extracting information on intervention endpoints and follow-up endpoints. Two investigators performed independent screening of the literature, followed by data extraction and risk of bias evaluation of included studies, after which the data were systematically evaluated and analyzed to determine the quality of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. Finally, 22 studies comprising 1709 participants compared with control conditions were selected. Results The meta-analysis demonstrated that combining multiple treatments significantly improved total symptoms (standardized mean difference (SMD) = − 0.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.56 to − 0.34), negative symptoms (SMD = − 0.32, 95% CI: −0.42 to − 0.22), positive symptoms (SMD = − 0.40, 95% CI: −0.55 to − 0.25), and general psychopathology symptoms (SMD = − 0.54, 95% CI: −0.08 to − 0.28) among patients with schizophrenia compared with the control group. Furthermore, the meta-analysis revealed that there was no obvious publication bias for total, negative, positive, and general psychopathology symptoms. Results suggested that the outcomes were reliable.