Table 3.
Combination of terms with the best sensitivity, best specificity, and best optimization of sensitivity and specificity for detecting studies about geriatric medicine (≥ 65 years) in Medline in 2000
| Search Strategy* | Operating Characteristics† | |||
| Sensitivity, %(95% CI)(n = 3309) | Specificity, %(95% CI)(n = 45719) | Precision, %‡(95% CI) | Accuracy, %(95% CI)(n = 49028) | |
| Best sensitivity (exp adult) |
96.4 (95.8-97.1) |
55.9 (55.5-56.4) |
13.7 (13.2-14.1) |
58.7 (58.2-59.1) |
| Next best sensitivity (aged.sh. OR age:.tw.) |
95.4 (94.7-96.1) |
70.3 (69.8-70.7) |
18.9 (18.2-19.4) |
72.0 (71.6-72.3) |
| Best specificity (aged, 80 and over.sh. OR of age.tw.) |
63.3 (61.7-65.0) |
84.0 (83.7-84.4) |
22.3 (21.5-23.1) |
82.6 (82.3-83.0) |
| Next best specificity (aged.sh.) |
93.6 (92.8-94.5) |
82.7 (82.4-83.1) |
28.2 (27.3-29.0) |
83.5 (83.1-83.8) |
| Best optimization of sensitivity and specificity (aged.sh.) |
93.6 (92.8-94.5) |
82.7 (82.4-83.1) |
28.2 (27.3-29.0) |
83.5 (83.1-83.8) |
*Search strategies are reported using Ovid's search engine syntax for Medline (if a single search term is shown, this term outperformed two- and three-term combinations). Best sensitivity while keeping specificity ≥ 50%; Best specificity while keeping sensitivity ≥ 50%; Best Optimization of Sensitivity and Specificity is based on lowest possible absolute difference between sensitivity and specificity; exp = explode, a search term that automatically includes closely related indexing terms; sh = subject heading; : = truncation; tw = textword (word or phrase appears in title or abstract).
†Total database has 49028 articles, of which 3309 articles are relevant to geriatric medicine and 45719 are irrelevant to geriatric medicine.
‡n varies by row.