Table 1.

Study characteristics and methodological quality of included studies

Study characteristic	Frequency [N = 84 studies]
Study design
Cross sectional	60 (71%)
Case-control	24 (29%)
Blinded assessment of NAA test and reference standard results
Double or single blinded	29 (34%)
Unblinded or Unknown	55 (66%)
Target sequence for amplification
IS6110	54 (64%)
Other target sequences	30 (36%)
Use of chemical-based DNA extraction method
Any chemical method	55 (66%)
Physical methods	29 (34%)
Amplification technique
Nested or semi-nested PCR	16 (19%)
Regular or multi-plex PCR	68 (81%)
Detection of amplified products
Probe-based method	49 (58%)
Gel-UV method	35 (42%)