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Do published search filters to identify diagnostic test accuracy studies perform adequately?
Gill Ritchie1, Julie Glanville, Carol Lefebvre
1National Collaborating Centre for Primary Care, Royal College of General Practitioners, London, UK.
Health Information and Libraries Journal
|August 24, 2007
Summary
Published search filters for diagnostic test accuracy studies show poor performance. These filters lack sufficient sensitivity and precision for identifying studies needed for systematic reviews, indicating a need for improved methods.
Area of Science:
- Medical Informatics
- Information Retrieval
- Diagnostic Accuracy Research
Background:
- Systematic reviews require comprehensive literature searches.
- Diagnostic test accuracy studies are crucial for clinical decision-making.
- Existing search filters may not adequately identify relevant studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of published search filters.
- To assess filter performance in finding diagnostic test accuracy studies.
- To determine filter utility for systematic reviews.
Main Methods:
- Identified 23 diagnostic test accuracy search filters.
- Applied filters to a systematic review case study on urinary tract infections.
- Used Medline records as the gold standard for included studies.
Main Results:
- Filters demonstrated wide variations in sensitivity (20.6%–86.9%) and precision (1%–9.4%).
- 160 out of 179 relevant studies were found in Medline.
- No filter provided an optimal balance between sensitivity and precision.
Conclusions:
- Tested search filters are inadequate for identifying studies for systematic reviews.
- Current filters do not offer a viable trade-off between sensitivity and precision.
- Objective statistical analysis may help assess search filter viability.
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