Over-interpretation of findings in diagnostic accuracy studies of infectious diseases.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of overly positive interpretation, also called 'spin',-of results in diagnostic accuracy studies of infectious diseases and to identify suggestions for improvement.

Methods: A PubMed search was performed to identify diagnostic accuracy studies of infectious diseases published between January and March 2019. Each article was assessed by two authors independently to identify study characteristics and forms of actual and potential over-interpretation.