| Domain | Patient selection | Index test | Reference standard | Flow and timing |
| Description | Describe methods of patient selection Describe included participants (prior testing, presentation, intended use of index test and setting) |
Describe the index test and how it was conducted and interpreted | Describe the reference standard and how it was conducted and interpreted | Describe any participants who did not receive the index test(s) and/or reference standard or who were excluded from the 2 × 2 table (refer to flow diagram) Describe the time interval and any interventions between index test(s) and reference standard |
| Signalling questions (yes, no, unclear) | Was a consecutive or random sample of participants enrolled? Was a case‐control design avoided? Did the study avoid inappropriate exclusions? |
Were the index test results interpreted without knowledge of results of the reference standard? If a threshold was used, was it prespecified? |
Is the reference standard likely to correctly classify the target condition? Were the reference standard results interpreted without knowledge of results of the index test? |
Did all participants receive a reference standard? Did all participants receive the same reference standard? Were all participants included in the analysis? |
| Risk of bias (high, low, unclear) | Could the selection of participants have introduced bias? | Could the conduct or interpretation of the index test have introduced bias? | Could the reference standard, its conduct or its interpretation have introduced bias? | Could the participant flow have introduced bias? |
| Concerns regarding applicability (high, low, unclear) | Are there concerns that included participants do not match the review question? | Are there concerns that the index test, its conduct or its interpretation differs from the review question? | Are there concerns that the target condition as defined by the reference standard does not match the review question? |