Suarez 2008.

Study characteristics
Patient sampling	Prospective study; consecutive enrolment; singe group
Patient characteristics and setting	All adult patients receiving allogeneic or autologous HSCT, or intensive chemotherapy for haematological malignancies, and who were routinely monitored for biweekly GM detection were included in the study "This study was conducted prospectively […] in the adult hematology and bone marrow transplant unit at […] a tertiary‐care university hospital (Paris, France)" Representative spectrum? Yes: seems to be eligible (consecutive enrollment; all suspected of IPA)
Index tests	"The GM assay was performed […] twice weekly […] using the Platelia Aspergillus enzyme immunoassay (Bio‐Rad Laboratories, Marnes‐la‐Coquette, France). Serum samples with an index of >0.5 were retested the following day and were considered positive if the GM index was again >0.5"
Target condition and reference standard(s)	Invasive aspergillosis, as defined by EORTC criteria (Ascioglu 2002) Incorporation avoided? Yes: we used the EORTC/MSG criteria (except the GM results) for diagnosis of IA Acceptable reference standard? Yes: EORTC criteria
Flow and timing	Study lasted 13 months Partial verification avoided? Yes Withdrawals explained? Seems as if there were no withdrawals (N/A) Uninterpretable results reported? Yes: seems that there were no indeterminates etc. (so N/A)
Comparative
No patients per category	1 proven, 14 probable, 2 possible, 107 no IA
Notes	Support has been reported; no Platelia support mentioned
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?	Yes
		Low	Low
DOMAIN 2: Index Test All tests
Were the index test results interpreted without knowledge of the results of the reference standard?	Unclear
If a threshold was used, was it pre‐specified?	Yes
		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?	Unclear
		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