Trial reportJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2018
The impact of a computerised test of attention and activity (QbTest) on diagnostic decision-making in children and young people with suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: single-blind randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02209116 (A RCT Comparing the Effects of Providing Clinicians and Patients With the Results of an Objective Measure of Activity and Attention), which is not on this map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A RCT Comparing the Effects of Providing Clinicians and Patients With the Results of an Objective Measure of Activity and Attention (QbTest) Versus Usual Care on Diagnostic and Treatment Decision Making in Children and Young People With ADHD
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Trial
- The validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for children with ADHD symptoms.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Validation of a criterion-based screening and triage pathway for adult ADHD: a prospective observational study of safety and operational efficiency.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Digital health technologies for adults with ADHD: a scoping review.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Review
- From monitoring metrics to decision evidence: validating actionability in applied sport science.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Retinal fundus imaging as biomarker for ADHD using machine learning for screening and visual attention stratification.NPJ digital medicine · 2025Article
- Commentary: Using QbTest for monitoring pharmacological treatment response in ADHD - are we there yet?Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2025Article
- Machine learning on a smartphone-based CPT for ADHD prediction.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- ADHD diagnostic tools across ages: traditional and digital approaches.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Review
- Objective Assessment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder with QbMobile: A Smartphone Application for Clinical Use.Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH · 2025Article
- Spectral Analysis of Light-Adapted Electroretinograms in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Classification with Machine Learning.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A national evaluation of QbTest to support ADHD assessment: a real-world, mixed methods approach.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Telehealth implementation for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a scoping review.Child health nursing research · 2024Article
- Inclusion of a computerized test in ADHD diagnosis process can improve trust in the specialists' decision and elevate adherence levels.Scientific reports · 2024Observational
- Fusion of Multi-Task Neurophysiological Data to Enhance the Detection of Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.IEEE journal of translational engineering in health and medicine · 2024Article
- Parent/Caregiver Experiences of a CAMHS ADHD Assessment Pathway: A Qualitative Service Evaluation.Journal of attention disorders · 2023Article
- Remote assessment of ADHD in children and adolescents: recommendations from the European ADHD Guidelines Group following the clinical experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2023Review
- A preliminary study of white matter correlates of a laboratory measure of attention and motor stability in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.Journal of psychiatric research · 2023Article
- Candidate diagnostic biomarkers for neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents: a systematic review.World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDiagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) relies on subjective methods which can lead to diagnostic uncertainty and delay. This trial evaluated the impact of providing a computerised test of attention and activity (QbTest) report on the speed and accuracy of diagnostic decision-making in children with suspected ADHD.
methodsRandomised, parallel, single-blind controlled trial in mental health and community paediatric clinics in England. Participants were 6-17 years-old and referred for ADHD diagnostic assessment; all underwent assessment-as-usual, plus QbTest. Participants and their clinician were randomised to either receive the QbTest report immediately (QbOpen group) or the report was withheld (QbBlind group). The primary outcome was number of consultations until a diagnostic decision confirming/excluding ADHD within 6-months from baseline. Health economic cost-effectiveness and cost utility analysis was conducted. Assessing QbTest Utility in ADHD: A Randomised Controlled Trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02209116).
resultsOne hundred and thirty-two participants were randomised to QbOpen group (123 analysed) and 135 to QbBlind group (127 analysed). Clinicians with access to the QbTest report (QbOpen) were more likely to reach a diagnostic decision about ADHD (hazard ratio 1.44, 95% CI 1.04-2.01). At 6-months, 76% of those with a QbTest report had received a diagnostic decision, compared with 50% without. QbTest reduced appointment length by 15% (time ratio 0.85, 95% CI 0.77-0.93), increased clinicians' confidence in their diagnostic decisions (odds ratio 1.77, 95% CI 1.09-2.89) and doubled the likelihood of excluding ADHD. There was no difference in diagnostic accuracy. Health economic analysis showed a position of strict dominance; however, cost savings were small suggesting that the impact of providing the QbTest report within this trial can best be viewed as 'cost neutral'.
conclusionsQbTest may increase the efficiency of ADHD assessment pathway allowing greater patient throughput with clinicians reaching diagnostic decisions faster without compromising diagnostic accuracy.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.