Conventional meta-analysis
The safety was compared between HIF-PHIs overall and ESAs through conventional meta-analyses regarding AEs and SAEs. The differences were not significant in either AEs (RR: 1.00, 95% CI: 0.99-1.02, p=0.72, I2=20.5%) or SAEs (RR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.95-1.04, p=0.76, I2=22.4%). The efficacy was compared between HIF-PHIs overall and ESAs regarding Hb response and ΔHb. And no statistical differences were indicated in the Hb response (RR: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.94-1.07, p=0.83, I2=71.9%), and ΔHb (MD:0.05 g/dL, 95% CI: -0.04-0.15, p=0.23, I2=85.4%). This result indicated that the individual effect of each HIF-PHI agent must be studied carefully, which led to our subsequent network meta-analysis.