TY - JOUR T1 - Response to: ‘Heterogeneity, consistency and model fit should be assessed in Bayesian network meta-analysis’ by Wei <em>et al</em> JF - Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases JO - Ann Rheum Dis SP - e6 LP - e6 DO - 10.1136/annrheumdis-2015-208670 VL - 75 IS - 1 AU - Michael M Ward AU - Abhijit Dasgupta AU - Runsheng Wang Y1 - 2016/01/01 UR - http://ard.bmj.com/content/75/1/e6.abstract N2 - We thank Wei et al1 for their comments on our paper on comparative efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis.2 Here we address their questions regarding study heterogeneity, effect modification and the fit of our models. Wei et al questioned if heterogeneity among studies could have affected our results. In all meta-analyses, an assessment of study heterogeneity is important. Heterogeneity was first addressed by our inclusion criteria, which limited the types of primary studies that were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis to those of patients with the same diagnosis (ankylosing spondylitis), similar trial durations and no … ER -