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. 2021 Jan 15;2021(1):CD012768. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012768.pub3

Iram 2015.

Study characteristics
Patient Sampling Cross‐sectional, consecutive, prospective
Patient characteristics and setting Presenting signs and symptoms: patients with clinical presentation, radiological findings, and histopathological evidence of extrapulmonary TB
Age: mean 37 years, range 10 to 80 years
Sex, female: 41%
Children: 3%
HIV infection: 2%
Clinical setting: teaching hospital
Past history of TB: 53%
Patients on anti‐TB treatment: yes, 3%
Number of specimens evaluated: 18
Laboratory level: intermediate
Country: Pakistan
World Bank Income Classification: middle income
High TB burden: yes
High TB/HIV burden: no
High MDR‐TB burden: yes
Index tests Xpert MTB/RIF
WHO SOP or manufacturer's protocol followed: yes
Manufacturer's involvement: no
Target condition and reference standard(s) Target condition: pleural TB, peritoneal TB
Reference standard for TB detection: LJ
Reference standard for rifampicin resistance: LJ‐DST
Speciation: not reported
Decontamination: no
Flow and timing  
Comparative  
Notes  
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    
Could the selection of patients have introduced bias?   Low risk  
Are there concerns that the included patients and setting do not match the review question?     Unclear
DOMAIN 2: Index Test (Xpert MTB/RIF)
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? Yes    
Could the conduct or interpretation of the index test have introduced bias?   Low risk  
Are there concerns that the index test, its conduct, or interpretation differ from the review question?     Low concern
DOMAIN 2: Index Test (Xpert Ultra)
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    
For rifampicin resistance testing, were the reference standard results interpreted without knowledge of the results of the index test? Yes    
Could the reference standard, its conduct, or its interpretation have introduced bias?   Low risk  
Are there concerns that the target condition as defined by the reference standard does not match the question?     Unclear
DOMAIN 4: Flow and Timing
Was there an appropriate interval between index test and reference standard? Yes    
Did all patients receive the same reference standard? Yes    
Were all patients included in the analysis? Yes    
Could the patient flow have introduced bias?   Low risk