Suankratay 2006.

Study characteristics
Patient sampling	From June 2002 to January 2004 a consecutive series of adult patients with haematological disorders who were at risk of developing IA were included Eligible patients were 1) receiving chemotherapy with an expected duration of neutropenia of less than 500 cells/μL of at least 7 days or 2) undergoing allogeneic bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation Those patients who were undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation or were less than 16 years old were excluded from the present study (not sure if autologous BMT would fall under inappropriate exclusion)
Patient characteristics and setting	All 50 patients older than 16 46% male At KCMH, Bangkok, Thailand Patients receiving chemotherapy or allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Patients under 16 and patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation were excluded Inpatients; monitoring of clinical course Representative spectrum? Patients receiving chemotherapy or allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Index tests	Platelia Aspergillus. Blood samples were obtained once or twice weekly until death or discharge. 2 subsequent positive samples were needed to get a positive test result. Cut‐off 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, 1.5 ODI
Target condition and reference standard(s)	Invasive aspergillosis, as defined by EORTC criteria (Ascioglu 2002) Incorporation avoided? Galactomannan not included in description of reference criteria Acceptable reference standard? Yes: EORTC (Ascioglu 2002)
Flow and timing	Timing not reported Partial verification avoided? Yes, all patients were classified according to the reference criteria Withdrawals explained? No Uninterpretable results reported? Yes
Comparative
No patients per category	5 proven, 12 probable, 33 possible or no IA
Notes	Timelines GM for 17 patients Sponsoring: nothing reported about financial support
Methodological quality
Item	Authors' judgement	Risk of bias	Applicability concerns
DOMAIN 1: Patient Selection
Was a consecutive or random sample of patients enrolled?	Yes
Was a case‐control design avoided?	Yes
Did the study avoid inappropriate exclusions?	Unclear
		Low	Low
DOMAIN 2: Index Test All tests
Were the index test results interpreted without knowledge of the results of the reference standard?	Yes
If a threshold was used, was it pre‐specified?	Unclear
		Low	Low
DOMAIN 3: Reference Standard
Is the reference standards likely to correctly classify the target condition?	Yes
Were the reference standard results interpreted without knowledge of the results of the index tests?	Yes
		Low	Low
DOMAIN 4: Flow and Timing
Was there an appropriate interval between index test and reference standard?	Unclear
Did all patients receive the same reference standard?	Yes
Were all patients included in the analysis?	Yes
		Low