Penny F Whiting

..We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate this question...

..Diagnostic information should be presented in an easily interpretable way, which conveys both test characteristics (diagnostic accuracy) and the potential for use in clinical practice (predictive value)...

..Early recognition and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is important to prevent irreversible joint damage. Anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA) have been suggested for early diagnosis...

..To compare the performance of MEDLINE searches using index test(s) and target condition (subject searches) with the same searches combined with methodological filters for test accuracy studies...

..To determine the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging criteria for the early diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in patients with suspected disease...

..Although QUADAS has been used in several systematic reviews, it has not been formally validated. The objective was to evaluate the validity and usefulness of QUADAS...

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..Prompt diagnosis and treatment is important to reduce the risk of renal scarring. Rapid, cost-effective, methods of UTI diagnosis are required as an alternative to culture...

..To review existing quality assessment tools for diagnostic accuracy studies and to examine to what extent quality was assessed and incorporated in diagnostic systematic reviews...

..This tool will allow for more transparent rating of bias and applicability of primary diagnostic accuracy studies...

..Three areas that would benefit from further research are literature searching, synthesis of results from individual patient data and presentation of results...

..A secondary objective was to contribute to the evaluation of QUADAS, an evidence-based tool for the assessment of quality in diagnostic accuracy studies...

..Further investigation of confirmed UTI in children aims to prevent renal scarring and future complications...

..Statistically rigorous hierarchical models require expertise and sophisticated software. We assessed whether any of the simpler methods can in practice give adequately accurate and reliable results...

..We discuss the different forms of summary model output suggested by the two approaches, including summary ROC curves, summary points, confidence regions, and prediction regions...

..The aim of this project was to combine empirical evidence and expert opinion in a formal consensus method to develop a tool to be used in systematic reviews to assess the quality of primary studies of diagnostic accuracy...

..To estimate the yield from searching a range of bibliographic databases and additional sources to identify test accuracy studies for systematic reviews...

..To consider the reasons and context for test ordering by doctors when faced with an undiagnosed complaint in primary or secondary care...

..Studies of diagnostic accuracy are subject to different sources of bias and variation than studies that evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention. Little is known about the effects of these sources of bias and variation...