Table 2. STARD 2015 checklist.

			Study
Item	Section	STARD 2015 Checklist Criteria	J. Death (1993)	S.K. Inouye (1998)	B.R. Nair (2007)	C.J. Büla (2009)	J.P. Tuijl (2012)	C. Travers (2013)
1	Title or Abstract	Identification as a study of diagnostic accuracy using at least one measure of accuracy (such as sensitivity, specificity, predictive values or AUC)	2	2	2	2	2	2
2	Abstract	Structured summary of study design, methods, results and conclusions (for specific guidance, see STARD for Abstracts)	-1	2	2	1	2	2
3	Introduction	Scientific and clinical background, including the intended use and clinical role of the index test	2	2	2	2	2	2
4	Introduction	Study objectives and hypotheses	2	2	2	2	2	2
5	Methods	Whether data collection was planned before the index test and reference standard were performed (prospective study) or after (retrospective study)	2	2	2	2	2	2
6	Methods	Eligibility criteria	2	2	2	2	2	2
7	Methods	On what basis potentially eligible participants were identified (such as symptoms, results from previous tests, inclusion in registry)	2	2	2	2	2	2
8	Methods	Where and when potentially eligible participants were identified (setting, location and dates)	1	2	1	1	2	2
9	Methods	Whether participants formed a consecutive, random or convenience series	2	2	0	2	2	2
10a	Methods	Index test, in sufficient detail to allow replication	2	2	2	2	2	2
10b	Methods	Reference standard, in sufficient detail to allow replication	2	2	2	2	2	2
11	Methods	Rationale for choosing the reference standard (if alternatives exist)	2	1	2	1	2	2
12a	Methods	Definition of and rationale for test positivity cut-offs or result categories of the index test, distinguishing pre-specified from exploratory	2	2	2	2	2	2
12b	Methods	Definition of and rationale for test positivity cut-offs or result categories of the reference standard, distinguishing pre-specified from exploratory	2	2	2	2	2	2
13a	Methods	Whether clinical information and reference standard results were available to the performers or readers of the index test	2	2	2	2	2	2
13b	Methods	Whether clinical information and index test results were available to the assessors of the reference standard	0	0	2	2	2	2
14	Methods	Methods for estimating or comparing measures of diagnostic accuracy	2	2	2	2	2	2
15	Methods	How indeterminate index test or reference standard results were handled	2	-1	-1	2	-1	2
16	Methods	How missing data on the index test and reference standard were handled	0	2	-1	-1	-1	2
17	Methods	Any analyses of variability in diagnostic accuracy, distinguishing prespecified from exploratory	-1	2	-1	2	2	1
18	Methods	Intended sample size and how it was determined	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
19	Results	Flow of participants, using a diagram	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
20	Results	Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of participants	1	2	1	2	2	2
21a	Results	Distribution of severity of disease in those with the target condition	2	2	1	2	-1	2
21b	Results	Distribution of alternative diagnoses in those without the target condition	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1
22	Results	Time interval and any clinical interventions between index test and reference standard	2	0	0	0	1	2
23	Results	Cross tabulation of the index test results (or their distribution) by the results of the reference standard	2	2	2	-1	2	2
24	Results	Estimates of diagnostic accuracy and their precision (such as 95% CIs)	1	2	2	2	2	2
25	Results	Any adverse events from performing the index test or the reference standard	-1	2	2	2	2	-1
26	Discussion	Study limitations, including sources of potential bias, statistical uncertainty and generalizability	1	2	2	2	2	2
27	Discussion	Implications for practice, including the intended use and clinical role of the index test	1	2	2	2	2	2
28	Other Information	Registration number and name of registry	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1	2
29	Other Information	Where the full study protocol can be accessed	2	2	2	2	2	2
30	Other Information	Sources of funding and other support; role of funders	-1	2	-1	2	2	2
Sum of all reporting items			35	48	37	45	46	55

(A) Legend: 2 = fully reported, 1 = partially reported, 0 = unclear, -1 = not reported/missing