Searching practices and inclusion of unpublished studies in systematic reviews of diagnostic accuracy.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Many diagnostic accuracy studies are never reported in full in a peer-reviewed journal. Searching for unpublished studies may avoid bias due to selective publication, enrich the power of systematic reviews, and thereby help to reduce research waste. We assessed searching practices among recent systematic reviews of diagnostic accuracy.

Methods

We extracted data from 100 non-Cochrane systematic reviews of diagnostic accuracy indexed in MEDLINE and published between October 2017 and January 2018 and from all 100 Cochrane systematic reviews of diagnostic accuracy published by December 2018, irrespective of whether meta-analysis had been performed.

Results

Non-Cochrane and Cochrane reviews searched a median of 4 (IQR 3-5) and 6 (IQR 5-9) databases, respective

SUBMITTER: Korevaar DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7317757 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature