All studies reported on I-MIBG scintigraphy as an index test; one study also reported on I-MIBG scintigraphy as a comparator test and F-FDG-PET scintigraphy as an index test (Sharp 2009a).
We also considered indirect (between-study) comparisons by comparing cohort studies analysing results of at least 100 women who received surveillance mammography, or a comparator test, or a combination of tests, with the reference standard test in the same population.
HIV was tested after counselling using 2 point-of-care tests for each patient: the test routinely in use at the TB clinic (either Advanced Quality™ Rapid Anti-HIV 1&2, FACTS anti-HIV 1/2 RAPID or HIV (1 + 2) Antibody Colloidal Gold), and a comparator test (Abbott Determine™ HIV-1/2, Inverness Medical).
In the other two studies [ 21, 22] a positive comparator test was defined as a positive result from either speculum examination alone, or from both nitrazine pH and ferning tests. 1 In Bornstein et al. [ 22], the primary outcome was the comparison between the patient's reading of the Vision ALD result and the initial clinical diagnosis.
In the absence of a lengthy FDA approval process, tests can be cleared by FDA and given similar treatment if they are demonstrated to be roughly equivalent to a former comparator test.
In this study, if the Vision ALD result was positive and the comparator was negative then the woman was tested for vaginal infection and underwent a second comparator test within 48 h.
Also the detection of the diagnostic accuracy of index test F-FDG-PET -CT) imaging F-FDG-PET -CT a neuroblastoma tumour and its metastases, and to compare this to comparator test I-MIBG (SPECT-CT) scintigraphy, could not be calculated because oF-FDG-PET -CT available data at time oF-FDG-PET -CT.
The performance of the Chlamydia Rapid Test was assessed to meet the requirements for Conformité Européenne licensure, which stipulate that the comparator test should be a "state of the art" assay and should be performed with specimens approved for the test.
Pooled LOA indicated that 95%% of pathologic measurements fall between +/−3.8 cm of the MRI measurement.> -wrap-foot> confidencence interval, LOA limits of agreement, MD mean difference, MRI magnetic resonance imaging, NA not applicable, US ultrasound * p < 0.01 aRandom effects bPatients without comparator test combined as a single data set.
New screening methods can be evaluated relative to the proven screening test (screening mammography being the comparator test for breast cancer) as a replacement for the comparator or as an incremental (additional) method, whereby the new test would only be carried out in those where the comparator test is negative.
Because self-reported water treatment may be overly reported (i.e., social desirability bias), the use of a household water treatment product was confirmed by measuring chlorine residual with an N, N diethyl-p-phenylene diamine (DPD) color comparator test kit (LaMotte Co., Maryland).
