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title: "A systematic review and meta-analysis of published research data on…"
date: 2020-05-11
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
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# A systematic review and meta-analysis of published research data on…

*May 11, 2020 · Facebook*

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[https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.03.20089854](https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.03.20089854){target="_blank"}
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A systematic review and meta-analysis of published research data on COVID-19 infection-fatality rates\
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Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, Lea Merone\
doi: [https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.03.20089854](https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.03.20089854){target="_blank"}\
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Introduction:\
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An important unknown during the COVID-19 pandemic has been the infection-fatality rate (IFR). This differs from the case-fatality rate (CFR) as an estimate of the number of deaths as a proportion of the total number of cases, including those who are mild and asymptomatic. While the CFR is extremely valuable for experts, IFR is increasingly being called for by policy-makers and the lay public as an estimate of the overall mortality from COVID-19.\
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Methods:\
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Pubmed and Medrxiv were searched using a set of terms and Boolean operators on 25/04/2020. Articles were screened for inclusion by both authors. Meta-analysis was performed in Stata 15.1 using the metan command, based on IFR and confidence intervals extracted from each study. Google/Google Scholar was used to assess the grey literature relating to government reports.\
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Results:\
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After exclusions, there were 13 estimates of IFR included in the final meta-analysis, from a wide range of countries, published between February and April 2020. The meta-analysis demonstrated a point-estimate of IFR of 0.75% (0.49-1.01%) with significant heterogeneity (p\<0.001). Conclusion:\
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Based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of published evidence on COVID-19 until the end of April, 2020, the IFR of the disease across populations is 0.75% (0.49-1.01%).\
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However, due to very high heterogeneity in the meta-analysis, it is difficult to know if this represents the \"true\" point estimate. It is likely that different places will experience different IFRs. More research looking at age-stratified IFR is urgently needed to inform policy-making on this front.
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