Table 1.
Quality Assessment of Studies of Diagnostic Accuracy (QUADAS) guidelines 11 on the three vitals elements of diagnostic accuracy studies: the reference standard, the diagnostic test and the study design
| Guidelines | Biases | |
|---|---|---|
| Reference Standard | Applicability to condition of interest | |
| A universal application of the reference standard | Partial verification bias | |
| A uniform application of the reference standard | Differential verification bias | |
| Independence from the diagnostic test | Incorporation bias | |
| Sufficient detail to permit exact re-do | ||
| Results interpreted blinded to diagnostic test results | Reference standard review bias | |
| Diagnostic Test (Test being studied) | Sufficient detail to permit exact re-do | |
| Results interpreted blinded to reference standard results | Diagnostic test review bias | |
| Study Design/Execution | A representative spectrum of patients | Spectrum bias |
| Outlined selection criteria | ||
| Interval between tests (short: to ensure target condition did not change) | Disease progression bias | |
| Availability of relevant clinical information for diagnosis | Clinical review bias | |
| All results reported; including in-determinable | ||
| Explanation of withdrawals |