The implementation of these statistical procedures needs to be carefully thought through and judicious, as it may be inappropriate (or indeed misleading) to use all the procedures (particularly statistical pooling) in all reviews. Once the data have been entered into the datasheet of Meta-DiSc, various statistical analyses can be implemented (Figure 1). Several variables can be defined in the datasheet, including study identifiers, accuracy data from each study (true positives, false positives, true negatives and false negatives) and study level co-variates, such as those defining population spectrum or methodological quality of the studies. Microsoft Excel) and pasting into Meta-DiSc datasheet, or c) importing text files from other sources (for example, in the comma delimited format). Meta-DiSc allows data entry into its datasheet in three different ways: a) directly by typing data into the datasheet using the keyboard, b) copying from another spreadsheet (e.g.
Being meta definition manual#
These help files include a user manual and a description of the implemented statistical methods. The programme has a user-friendly interface with roll-down menus, dialog boxes and online HTML compiled help files.
Its installation is simple, guided by onscreen instructions.
Being meta definition software#
The software is distributed as a single file, downloadable freely from URL. Meta-DiSc software was created in Microsoft Visual Basic 6, and some mathematical routines have been linked from the NAG C mathematical library. We, therefore, developed, piloted and validated a comprehensive, Windows-based test accuracy meta-analysis software, Meta-DiSc, which is presented in this article, with a worked example. Moreover, it lacks crucial analytical tools such as pooling of likelihood ratios (LRs), tests for heterogeneity and meta-regression facilities. However, it is a DOS-based application with an interface that many find difficult to use, and integrate into Windows-based applications.
Initiatives such as STARD and developments within the Cochrane Collaboration to accept protocols and reviews of test accuracy studies highlight the emphasis being given to evidence-based diagnosis.Ĭurrently, there is only one test accuracy meta-analysis package, Meta-Test, which addresses some of the unique statistical issues related to test accuracy, such as pooling of sensitivities and specificities and summary receiver operating characteristics (sROC) analysis. Thus studies of diagnostic accuracy, and particularly their systematic reviews and meta-analyses, are being recognised as instrumental in underpinning evidence-based clinical practice. Indeed, a wrong diagnosis can harm patients by exposing them to inappropriate or sub-optimal therapy. Īccurate diagnosis forms the basis of good clinical care, as without it one can neither prognosticate correctly nor choose the right treatment. It has already been used and cited in several meta-analyses published in high-ranking journals. Meta-DiSc is a comprehensive and dedicated test accuracy meta-analysis software. Meta-DiSc has a Graphical User Interface with roll-down menus, dialog boxes, and online help facilities. All computational algorithms have been validated through comparison with different statistical tools and published meta-analyses.
Meta-DiSc a) allows exploration of heterogeneity, with a variety of statistics including chi-square, I-squared and Spearman correlation tests, b) implements meta-regression techniques to explore the relationships between study characteristics and accuracy estimates, c) performs statistical pooling of sensitivities, specificities, likelihood ratios and diagnostic odds ratios using fixed and random effects models, both overall and in subgroups and d) produces high quality figures, including forest plots and summary receiver operating characteristic curves that can be exported for use in manuscripts for publication. In this article, we present Meta-DiSc, a Windows-based, user-friendly, freely available (for academic use) software that we have developed, piloted, and validated to perform diagnostic meta-analysis. However, there is currently no dedicated and comprehensive software for meta-analysis of diagnostic data. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of test accuracy studies are increasingly being recognised as central in guiding clinical practice.
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