Evidence-based Urology: Understanding Heterogeneity in Systematic Reviews

Variability in the results of randomized trials presents challenges to the interpretation and application of the evidence to patient care. Understanding how systematic reviews deal with this problem of "heterogeneity" will help clinicians in applying results in their patient management. This manuscript offers a review of heterogeneity from the clinical urological perspective. PATIENT SUMMARY: Systematic reviews of the literature are necessary to accurately summarize the available evidence to inform clinical decisions. In this mini-review, we explain how to understand and deal with the differences between studies-which we call heterogeneity-included in these types of reviews.