Meta-Analysis Manuscript Assembly Complete systematic review and meta-analysis manuscripts for journal submission by creating publication-ready tables, figures, and references. When to Use Completing meta-analysis manuscript after analyses are done Creating tables from meta-analysis results Assembling multi-panel figures from forest/funnel plots Generating BibTeX references for systematic reviews Formatting manuscripts for high-impact journals (Lancet, JAMA, NEJM) Prerequisites Before using this skill, ensure you have: Completed meta-analyses with results tables (CSV format) Generated individual figures (PNG at 300 DPI) Manuscript text sections written (Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) List of all citations needed Workflow Phase 1: Tables Creation Create comprehensive tables from analysis results: Main Text Tables Table 1: Trial Characteristics Extract from extraction.csv or similar Include: NCT number, first author, year, design, sample sizes, intervention details, follow-up Format as markdown with abbreviations section Table 2: Efficacy Outcomes Summary Combine results from all meta-analyses (pCR, survival outcomes) Include: effect estimates, 95% CI, p-values, I², absolute benefits, NNT Add GRADE certainty ratings Table 3: Safety Outcomes Summary From safety meta-analysis results Include: adverse events, rates, RR/OR, NNH Add clinical management guidance Supplementary Tables Risk of Bias Assessment Use RoB 2 or ROBINS-I tool format Domain-by-domain assessment for each trial Overall risk rating with justifications GRADE Evidence Profile Summary of Findings table format All outcomes with certainty ratings Domain-specific justifications (bias, inconsistency, indirectness, imprecision) Detailed Results Tables Individual trial results Subgroup analyses Sensitivity analyses Phase 2: Figure Assembly Create multi-panel publication-ready figures: Tool: Python Script with PIL/Pillow

Create assemble_figures.py

from PIL import Image , ImageDraw , ImageFont from pathlib import Path def add_panel_label ( img , label , position = 'top-left' , font_size = 80 , offset = ( 40 , 40 ) ) : """Add A, B, C labels to panels""" draw = ImageDraw . Draw ( img )

Try to use system font

try : font = ImageFont . truetype ( "/System/Library/Fonts/Helvetica.ttc" , font_size ) except : font = ImageFont . load_default ( ) x , y = offset

Draw white background box for visibility

bbox

draw . textbbox ( ( x , y ) , label , font = font ) padding = 10 draw . rectangle ( [ bbox [ 0 ] - padding , bbox [ 1 ] - padding , bbox [ 2 ] + padding , bbox [ 3 ] + padding ] , fill = 'white' , outline = 'black' , width = 2 ) draw . text ( ( x , y ) , label , fill = 'black' , font = font ) return img def create_multi_panel_figure ( images_list , output_path , labels = [ 'A' , 'B' , 'C' ] , spacing = 40 ) : """Combine multiple images vertically with labels"""

Add labels to images

labeled_images

[ add_panel_label ( img , label ) for img , label in zip ( images_list , labels ) ]

Calculate dimensions

max_width

max ( img . width for img in labeled_images ) total_height = sum ( img . height for img in labeled_images ) + spacing * ( len ( labeled_images ) - 1 )

Create combined image

combined

Image . new ( 'RGB' , ( max_width , total_height ) , 'white' )

Paste images

y_offset

0 for img in labeled_images : combined . paste ( img , ( 0 , y_offset ) ) y_offset += img . height + spacing

Save at 300 DPI

combined

.

save

(

output_path

,

dpi

=

(

300

,

300

)

return

output_path

Typical Figure Structure

Main Text:

Figure 1: Multi-panel efficacy (pCR, EFS, OS forest plots)

Figure 2: Subgroup analysis (e.g., by biomarker status)

Figure 3: Safety + Publication bias (SAE forest plot, funnel plot)

Supplementary:

Supp Figure 1: Sensitivity analyses (leave-one-out plots)

Supp Figure 2: Publication bias (funnel plots for all outcomes)

Phase 3: References Management

Create comprehensive BibTeX file:

Steps:

Extract all citations

from manuscript using grep

grep

-E

"¹|²|³|⁴|⁵|⁶|⁷|⁸|⁹|⁰|[\d+]"

manuscript_sections.md

Create BibTeX entries

for each reference

Include DOI for all entries

Use standardized journal abbreviations (Index Medicus)

Format author names correctly

Create mapping document

Map superscripts (¹, ², ³) to BibTeX keys

Document citation locations in manuscript

Create usage guide

Pandoc conversion instructions

Zotero import instructions

Manual formatting examples (Lancet, JAMA style)

Phase 4: Figure Legends

Write comprehensive legends for all figures:

Legend Structure:

Panel A. Outcome Name

Description of what the panel shows. Forest plot showing [effect measure] for [outcome]

across [N] trials ([total participants]). [Statistical method used]. [Key result].

Horizontal lines represent 95% confidence intervals; diamond represents pooled effect.

Vertical line at [null value] indicates no treatment effect.

Abbreviations

List all abbreviations used.

Include:

Statistical methods (random-effects, Hartung-Knapp adjustment)

Heterogeneity measures (I², Cochran's Q)

Clinical interpretations

Abbreviations definitions

Phase 5: Quality Assurance

Before submission, verify:

Tables

All data matches analysis results exactly

Abbreviations defined

Footnotes explain all symbols

Column/row headers clear

Statistical notation consistent

Figures

All figures at 300 DPI minimum

Panel labels (A, B, C) visible and not obscuring data

Legends match figures exactly

Font sizes readable (≥8pt for final print size)

Color schemes work in grayscale

References

All citations have corresponding references

Reference numbers sequential

DOIs correct and working

Journal abbreviations standardized

Author names match original publications

Output Structure

07_manuscript/

├── tables/

│ ├── Table1_Trial_Characteristics.md

│ ├── Table2_Efficacy_Summary.md

│ ├── Table3_Safety_Summary.md

│ ├── SupplementaryTable1_RiskOfBias.md

│ ├── SupplementaryTable2_GRADE_Profile.md

│ └── ...

├── figures/

│ ├── Figure1_Efficacy.png (300 DPI)

│ ├── Figure2_Subgroup.png (300 DPI)

│ ├── Figure3_Safety.png (300 DPI)

│ ├── SupplementaryFigure1_Sensitivity.png

│ └── ...

├── references.bib

├── FIGURE_LEGENDS.md

├── CITATION_MAPPING.md

└── REFERENCES_USAGE_GUIDE.md

Time Estimates

Tables creation: 2-3 hours

Figure assembly: 1-2 hours

References: 1-2 hours

Legends: 1 hour

QA: 1 hour

Total: 6-9 hours

Journal-Specific Formatting

Lancet Oncology

Word limit: 4000-5000 words

Tables: 3-4 main text, unlimited supplementary

Figures: 3-4 main text, unlimited supplementary

References: Vancouver style, 30-40 typical

Resolution: 300 DPI minimum

JAMA

Word limit: 3500 words

Tables: 4 max

Figures: 4 max

References: 40 max

Resolution: 300-600 DPI

New England Journal of Medicine

Word limit: 3000 words

Tables: 3 max

Figures: 3 max