Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Before-After Studies
Author Information
Author(s): Catherine A Meads, Clare F Davenport
Primary Institution: University of Birmingham
Hypothesis
How can we improve the quality assessment of diagnostic before-after studies?
Conclusion
A better quality assessment tool for diagnostic before-after studies needs to be developed and validated.
Supporting Evidence
- Quality assessment tools for primary studies of test accuracy are relatively well developed.
- The QUADAS tool was modified to better assess diagnostic before-after studies.
- The study identified limitations in existing quality assessment tools for diagnostic before-after studies.
Takeaway
This study talks about how to check if tests for diagnosing patients are good enough, especially when comparing old tests to new ones.
Methodology
The QUADAS tool was modified and assessed by two systematic reviewers for its appropriateness in evaluating diagnostic before-after studies.
Potential Biases
Diagnostic before-after studies may be biased in favor of new interventions.
Limitations
The developed checklist only partially helped to discern implications of the study designs on the results.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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