Coding of infections was based on clinical definitions.
Categorical variables were constructed from continuous clinical variables based on clinical definitions.
The diagnosis of ARDS is based on clinical definitions that lack both sensitivity and specificity.
For birth weight analyses, we created the following categories: < 2,500 g (low), 2,500 3,999 g, and ≥ 4,000 g (high) based on clinical definitions of low and high birth weight and similarity of fibroid risk within categories.
We included studies conducted with adults or adolescents who had been diagnosed by a healthcare practitioner, as explicitly stated or implied within context, as having seborrhoeic dermatitis (SD) of the scalp, face or both based on clinical case definition, with or without laboratory confirmation.
The new infectious disease surveillance system in Germany, based on clinical case definitions and laboratory confirmation, is one of the few national surveillance systems in industrialized countries to include dengue fever with a specific case definition.
Consequently, the diagnosis is usually based on clinical case definitions [2].
Diagnosis is hampered by the poor sensitivity of microscopy and the limited availability of culture techniques; consequently the diagnosis is usually based on clinical case definitions.
Although this ELISA is currently used as a standard criterion and has unknown sensitivity, a similar assay has been reported to have an estimated sensitivity of approximately 93%, based on clinical case definitions for probable SARS (13 ).
As part of this task, the group recognized that in order to compare accuracy of self-reported measures across studies, a robust gold-standard definition (based on clinical exam) including a consistent definition of periodontitis was required.
