TRIPOD statement: a preliminary pre-post analysis of reporting and methods of prediction models.

Objectives: To assess the difference in completeness of reporting and methodological conduct of published prediction models before and after publication of the Transparent Reporting of a multivariable prediction model for Individual Prognosis Or Diagnosis (TRIPOD) statement.

Methods: In the seven general medicine journals with the highest impact factor, we compared the completeness of the reporting and the quality of the methodology of prediction model studies published between 2012 and 2014 (pre-TRIPOD) with studies published between 2016 and 2017 (post-TRIPOD). For articles published in the post-TRIPOD period, we examined whether there was improved reporting for articles (1) citing the TRIPOD statement, and (2) published in journals that published the TRIPOD statement.

Overdiagnosis across medical disciplines: a scoping review.

Objective: To provide insight into how and in what clinical fields overdiagnosis is studied and give directions for further applied and methodological research.

Design: Scoping review.

Data Sources: Medline up to August 2017.

Validation of an imaging based cardiovascular risk score in a Scottish population.

Objectives: A radiological risk score that determines 5-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk using routine care CT and patient information readily available to radiologists was previously developed. External validation in a Scottish population was performed to assess the applicability and validity of the risk score in other populations.

Methods: 2915 subjects aged ≥40 years who underwent routine clinical chest CT scanning for non-cardiovascular diagnostic indications were followed up until first diagnosis of, or death from, CVD.

Home or foster home care versus institutional long-term care for functionally dependent older people.

Background: Changing population demographics have led to an increasing number of functionally dependent older people who require care and medical treatment. In many countries, government policy aims to shift resources into the community from institutional care settings with the expectation that this will reduce costs and improve the quality of care compared.

Objectives: To assess the effects of long-term home or foster home care versus institutional care for functionally dependent older people.

Quality of Reporting and Study Design of CKD Cohort Studies Assessing Mortality in the Elderly Before and After STROBE: A Systematic Review.

Background: The STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement was published in October 2007 to improve quality of reporting of observational studies. The aim of this review was to assess the impact of the STROBE statement on observational study reporting and study design quality in the nephrology literature.

Study Design: Systematic literature review.

The diagnostic accuracy of serological tests for Lyme borreliosis in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Interpretation of serological assays in Lyme borreliosis requires an understanding of the clinical indications and the limitations of the currently available tests. We therefore systematically reviewed the accuracy of serological tests for the diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis in Europe.

Methods: We searched EMBASE en MEDLINE and contacted experts.

Estimating the Time to Benefit for Preventive Drugs with the Statistical Process Control Method: An Example with Alendronate.

Background: For physicians dealing with patients with a limited life expectancy, knowing the time to benefit (TTB) of preventive medication is essential to support treatment decisions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of statistical process control (SPC) for determining the TTB in relation to fracture risk with alendronate versus placebo in postmenopausal women.

Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis of the Fracture Intervention Trial (FIT), a randomized, controlled trial that investigated the effect of alendronate versus placebo on fracture risk in postmenopausal women.

Improving GRADE evidence tables part 2: a systematic survey of explanatory notes shows more guidance is needed.

Objectives: The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) working group has developed GRADE evidence profiles (EP) and summary of findings (SoF) tables to present evidence summaries in systematic reviews, clinical guidelines, and health technology assessments. Explanatory notes are used to explain choices and judgments in these summaries, for example, on rating of the quality of evidence.

Study Design And Setting: A systematic survey of the explanations in SoF tables in 132 randomly selected Cochrane Intervention reviews and in EPs of 10 guidelines.

Assessing variability in results in systematic reviews of diagnostic studies.

Background: To describe approaches used in systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy studies for assessing variability in estimates of accuracy between studies and to provide guidance in this area.

Methods: Meta-analyses of diagnostic test accuracy studies published between May and September 2012 were systematically identified. Information on how the variability in results was investigated was extracted.

GetReal in network meta-analysis: a review of the methodology.

Pairwise meta-analysis is an established statistical tool for synthesizing evidence from multiple trials, but it is informative only about the relative efficacy of two specific interventions. The usefulness of pairwise meta-analysis is thus limited in real-life medical practice, where many competing interventions may be available for a certain condition and studies informing some of the pairwise comparisons may be lacking. This commonly encountered scenario has led to the development of network meta-analysis (NMA).

Endoscopic and Open Release Similarly Safe for the Treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: The Endoscopic Release of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (ECTR) is a minimal invasive approach for the treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. There is scepticism regarding the safety of this technique, based on the assumption that this is a rather "blind" procedure and on the high number of severe complications that have been reported in the literature.

Purpose: To evaluate whether there is evidence supporting a higher risk after ECTR in comparison to the conventional open release.

Childhood asthma prediction models: a systematic review.

Early identification of children at risk of developing asthma at school age is crucial, but the usefulness of childhood asthma prediction models in clinical practice is still unclear. We systematically reviewed all existing prediction models to identify preschool children with asthma-like symptoms at risk of developing asthma at school age. Studies were included if they developed a new prediction model or updated an existing model in children aged 4 years or younger with asthma-like symptoms, with assessment of asthma done between 6 and 12 years of age.

Anti-adhesion therapy following operative hysteroscopy for treatment of female subfertility.

Background: Limited observational evidence suggests potential benefit for subfertile women undergoing operative hysteroscopy with several anti-adhesion therapies (e.g. insertion of an intrauterine device (IUD) or balloon, hormonal treatment, barrier gels or human amniotic membrane grafting) to decrease intrauterine adhesions (IUAs).

STARD 2015: an updated list of essential items for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies.

Incomplete reporting has been identified as a major source of avoidable waste in biomedical research. Essential information is often not provided in study reports, impeding the identification, critical appraisal, and replication of studies. To improve the quality of reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies, the Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) statement was developed.

STARD 2015: An Updated List of Essential Items for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy Studies.

Incomplete reporting has been identified as a major source of avoidable waste in biomedical research. Essential information is often not provided in study reports, impeding the identification, critical appraisal, and replication of studies. To improve the quality of reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies, the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (STARD) statement was developed.

Survival after Perioperative Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Providing an Evidence Base for Ethical Management of Do-not-resuscitate Orders.

Automatic suspension of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders during general anesthesia does not sufficiently address a patient's right to self-determination and is a practice still observed among anesthesiologists today. To provide an evidence base for ethical management of DNR orders during anesthesia and surgery, the authors performed a systematic review of the literature to quantify the survival after perioperative cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Results show that the probability of surviving perioperative CPR ranged from 32.

Radiopharmaceuticals for Palliation of Bone Pain in Patients with Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer Metastatic to Bone: A Systematic Review.

Context: The majority of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer develop bone metastatic disease. It is often challenging to optimally palliate malignant bone pain. In case of multifocal pain due to diffuse osteoblastic metastases, treatment with bone-seeking radiopharmaceuticals can be considered.

Feasibility of Primary Tumor Culture Models and Preclinical Prediction Assays for Head and Neck Cancer: A Narrative Review.

Primary human tumor culture models allow for individualized drug sensitivity testing and are therefore a promising technique to achieve personalized treatment for cancer patients. This would especially be of interest for patients with advanced stage head and neck cancer. They are extensively treated with surgery, usually in combination with high-dose cisplatin chemoradiation.

Reporting Quality of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses of Otorhinolaryngologic Articles Based on the PRISMA Statement.

Background: Systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) provide the highest possible level of evidence. However, poor conduct or reporting of SRs and MAs may reduce their utility. The PRISMA Statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) was developed to help authors report their SRs and MAs adequately.

Get real in individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis: a review of the methodology.

Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis is an increasingly used approach for synthesizing and investigating treatment effect estimates. Over the past few years, numerous methods for conducting an IPD meta-analysis (IPD-MA) have been proposed, often making different assumptions and modeling choices while addressing a similar research question. We conducted a literature review to provide an overview of methods for performing an IPD-MA using evidence from clinical trials or non-randomized studies when investigating treatment efficacy.

Multivariate meta-analysis of individual participant data helped externally validate the performance and implementation of a prediction model.

Objectives: Our aim was to improve meta-analysis methods for summarizing a prediction model's performance when individual participant data are available from multiple studies for external validation.

Study Design And Setting: We suggest multivariate meta-analysis for jointly synthesizing calibration and discrimination performance, while accounting for their correlation. The approach estimates a prediction model's average performance, the heterogeneity in performance across populations, and the probability of "good" performance in new populations.