NICE guideline committee's comments on editorial about menopause guideline

We read with interest editorial on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) menopause guideline,1 and their comments on the presentation of evidence underpinning the guideline’s recommendations.2 We dispute their allegation that “methodological deficiencies undermine its conclusions.” The development of this guideline was based on a rigorous methodological approach involving a complex meta-analysis, known as a network meta-analysis. This method was used to assess the relative effectiveness of different treatments (pharmacological and non-pharmacological) to reduce the occurrence of vasomotor symptoms. This complex meta-analysis is methodologically superior to conventional meta-analyses because it allows the simultaneous comparison of different treatments to achieve an outcome for the population of interest (in this case, women in menopause). All the relevant peer reviewed publications …