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GRADE guidelines: 21 part 2. Test accuracy: inconsistency, imprecision, publication bias, and other domains for rating the certainty of evidence and presenting it in evidence profiles and summary of findings tables.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Schünemann, HJ; Mustafa, RA; Brozek, J; Steingart, KR; Leeflang, M; Murad, MH; Bossuyt, P; Glasziou, P; Jaeschke, R; Lange, S; Meerpohl, J ...
Published in: J Clin Epidemiol
June 2020

OBJECTIVES: This article provides updated GRADE guidance about how authors of systematic reviews and health technology assessments and guideline developers can rate the certainty of evidence (also known as quality of the evidence or confidence in the estimates) of a body of evidence addressing test accuracy (TA) on the domains imprecision, inconsistency, publication bias, and other domains. It also provides guidance for how to present synthesized information in evidence profiles and summary of findings tables. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We present guidance for rating certainty in TA in clinical and public health and review the presentation of results of a body of evidence regarding tests. RESULTS: Supplemented by practical examples, we describe how raters of the evidence can apply the GRADE domains inconsistency, imprecision, and publication bias to a body of evidence of TA studies. CONCLUSION: Using GRADE in Cochrane and other reviews as well as World Health Organization and other guidelines helped refining the GRADE approach for rating the certainty of a body of evidence from TA studies. Although several of the GRADE domains (e.g., imprecision and magnitude of the association) require further methodological research to help operationalize them, judgments need to be made on the basis of what is known so far.

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Published In

J Clin Epidemiol

DOI

EISSN

1878-5921

Publication Date

June 2020

Volume

122

Start / End Page

142 / 152

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Research Design
  • Publication Bias
  • Humans
  • Guidelines as Topic
  • GRADE Approach
  • Epidemiology
  • Data Accuracy
  • Biomedical Research
  • 4202 Epidemiology
  • 11 Medical and Health Sciences
 

Citation

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Schünemann, H. J., Mustafa, R. A., Brozek, J., Steingart, K. R., Leeflang, M., Murad, M. H., … GRADE Working Group, . (2020). GRADE guidelines: 21 part 2. Test accuracy: inconsistency, imprecision, publication bias, and other domains for rating the certainty of evidence and presenting it in evidence profiles and summary of findings tables. J Clin Epidemiol, 122, 142–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.12.021
Schünemann, Holger J., Reem A. Mustafa, Jan Brozek, Karen R. Steingart, Mariska Leeflang, Mohammad Hassan Murad, Patrick Bossuyt, et al. “GRADE guidelines: 21 part 2. Test accuracy: inconsistency, imprecision, publication bias, and other domains for rating the certainty of evidence and presenting it in evidence profiles and summary of findings tables.J Clin Epidemiol 122 (June 2020): 142–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.12.021.
Schünemann HJ, Mustafa RA, Brozek J, Steingart KR, Leeflang M, Murad MH, Bossuyt P, Glasziou P, Jaeschke R, Lange S, Meerpohl J, Langendam M, Hultcrantz M, Vist GE, Akl EA, Helfand M, Santesso N, Hooft L, Scholten R, Rosen M, Rutjes A, Crowther M, Muti P, Raatz H, Ansari MT, Williams J, Kunz R, Harris J, Rodriguez IA, Kohli M, Guyatt GH, GRADE Working Group. GRADE guidelines: 21 part 2. Test accuracy: inconsistency, imprecision, publication bias, and other domains for rating the certainty of evidence and presenting it in evidence profiles and summary of findings tables. J Clin Epidemiol. 2020 Jun;122:142–152.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Clin Epidemiol

DOI

EISSN

1878-5921

Publication Date

June 2020

Volume

122

Start / End Page

142 / 152

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Research Design
  • Publication Bias
  • Humans
  • Guidelines as Topic
  • GRADE Approach
  • Epidemiology
  • Data Accuracy
  • Biomedical Research
  • 4202 Epidemiology
  • 11 Medical and Health Sciences