Challenges in Systematic Reviews of Diagnostic Technologies

View larger version (11K): [in a new window]   Figure 1. Meta-analysis of studies evaluating the use of a single creatine kinase measurement to diagnose acute myocardial infarction in the emergency department. The sensitivity and specificity estimate of each study is plotted, along with the overall results obtained by combining the estimates independently using a random-effects model.

View larger version (10K): [in a new window]   Figure 2. Summary receiver-operating characteristics curve analysis of studies evaluating the use of a single creatine kinase measurement to diagnose acute myocardial infarction in the emergency department. The position of the ellipse corresponds to the sensitivity and specificity reported in the individual study. The size of the ellipse is weighted according to the study size. The summary receiver-operating characteristic curve is limited to the range where data are available.