Ivanova 2008.

Clinical features and settings	Inclusion period: n.r. Patient population: 22 patients with histologically proven neuroblastoma at first diagnosis and 22 ¹²³I‐MIBG scans. Consecutive series: yes. Diagnostic work‐up: pathology, blood chemistry, US, abdominal CT or MRI. Time spans symptoms‐index test, symptoms‐reference standard and index test‐reference standard: n.r. Treatment between index test‐reference standard: n.r.
Participants	Included patients: 22 children with neuroblastoma and a ¹²³I‐MIBG scan at first diagnosis. Median age at diagnosis: 48 months (± 42 months). Sex distribution: 14 boys (64%), 8 girls (36%). INSS stage: n.r.
Study design	Retrospective cross‐sectional study.
Target condition and reference standard(s)	Target condition: newly diagnosed neuroblastoma. Reference standard: histopathology obtained prior to the index test.
Index and comparator tests	Assessed primary objective 1.1: to determine the diagnostic accuracy of ¹²³I‐MIBG (SPECT‐CT) scintigraphy for detecting a a neuroblastoma and its metastases at first diagnosis or at recurrence in children from 0 to 18 years old. Index test: ¹²³I‐MIBG scintigraphy. Radiofarmacon: ¹²³I‐MIBG. Dose: 4 MBq/kg. Collimator: n.r. Matrix: n.r. Acquisition protocol: WB scans with or without SPECT. Acquisition time: n.r. Acquisition duration: n.r. Interfering medication: n.r. Thyroid prophylaxis: n.r. A description of a positive test result for ¹²³I‐MIBG scans was not reported. Number and expertise of investigators: n.r. Interobserver concordance: n.r.
Follow‐up	n.r.
Notes	Data‐extraction performed by a translator.
Table of Methodological Quality
Item	Authors' judgement	Description
Representative spectrum? All tests	Unclear	INSS stage not reported.
Acceptable reference standard? All tests	Yes	Histopathology.
Acceptable delay between tests? All tests	Unclear	n.r.
Partial verification avoided? All tests	Unclear	n.r.
Differential verification avoided? All tests	Unclear	n.r.
Incorporation avoided? All tests	Yes	Index test was not a part of the reference test.
Reference standard results blinded? All tests	Unclear	n.r.
Index test results blinded? All tests	Unclear	Histopathology obtained prior to Index test.
Relevant clinical information? All tests	Unclear	n.r.
Uninterpretable results reported? All tests	Unclear	n.r.
Withdrawals explained? All tests	Unclear	n.r.
Selection criteria clearly described? All tests	No	In‐ and exclusion criteria n.r.
Sufficient detail for replication index test? All tests	No	Eexecution of the index test n.r.
Sufficient detail for replication reference test? All tests	No	n.r.
Clear definition of positive result index test? All tests	No	n.r.
Interobserver variation reported and acceptable? All tests	Unclear	n.r.