META-ANALYSIS - A meta-analysis is a quantitative synthesis of two or more studies of the same outcome. The increase in the number of published meta-analyses of different pharmacologic interventions means that clinical pharmacists must be able to appraise the results critically and apply them in practice. A MEDLINE search with terms meta-analysis and drugs, overview and drugs, and systematic review and drugs published from 1988-present identified 1010 articles; however, the actual number may be higher since some meta-analyses will not have been indexed in MEDLINE with these terms.