Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29884157›Full record

SynthesisBMC oral health2018

Visual and radiographic caries detection: a tailored meta-analysis for two different settings, Egypt and Germany.

Falk Schwendicke, Karim Elhennawy, Osama El Shahawy, Reham Maher, Thais Gimenez, Fausto M Mendes, Brian H Willis

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Falk SchwendickeDepartment of Operative and Preventive Dentistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Aßmannshauser Str. 4-6, 14197, Berlin, Germany. falk.schwendicke@charite.de.
Karim ElhennawyDepartment of Operative and Preventive Dentistry, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Aßmannshauser Str. 4-6, 14197, Berlin, Germany.
Osama El ShahawyDepartment of Pediatric Dentistry, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Reham MaherDepartment of Pediatric Dentistry, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Thais GimenezDepartment of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Av. Lineu Prestes, São Paulo, 2227, Brazil.
Fausto M MendesDepartment of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of São Paulo, Av. Lineu Prestes, São Paulo, 2227, Brazil.
Brian H WillisInstitute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.

Funding

Medical Research Council G0701649Medical Research Council MR/N007999/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDiagnostic meta-analyses on caries detection methods should assist practitioners in their daily practice. However, conventional meta-analysis estimates may be inapplicable due to differences in test conduct, applied thresholds and assessed population between settings. Our aim was to demonstrate the impact of tailored meta-analysis of visual and radiographic caries detection to different settings using setting-specific routine data.

methodsPublished systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the accuracy of visual and radiographic caries detection were used. In two settings (a private practice in Germany and a public health clinic in Egypt), routine data of a total of 100 (n = 50/practice) consecutive 12-14 year-olds were collected. Test-positive rates of visual and radiographic detection for initial and advanced carious lesions on occlusal or proximal surfaces of molars were used to tailor meta-analyses. If prevalence data were available, these were also used for tailoring.

resultsFrom the original reviews, 210 and 100 heterogeneous studies on visual and radiographic caries detection were included in our meta-analyses. For radiographic detection, sensitivity and specificity estimates derived from conventional and tailored meta-analysis were similar. For visual detection of advanced occlusal carious lesions, the conventional meta-analysis yielded a sensitivity and specificity (95% CI) of 64.6% (57-71) and 90.9% (88-93), whereas the tailored estimates for Egypt were 75.1% (70-81) and 84.9% (82-89), respectively, and 43.7% (37-51) and 96.5% (95-97) for Germany, respectively.

conclusionConventional test accuracy meta-analyses may yield aggregate estimates which are inapplicable to specific settings. Routine data may be used to produce a meta-analysis estimate which is tailored to the setting and thereby improving its applicability.

Indexed as

AdolescentChildDental CariesEgyptGermanyHumansRadiography, DentalCaries detectionDecision makingDiagnostic accuracy studiesEvidence-based dentistryMedical informatics

Identifiers

PMID29884157
PMCPMC5993995

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Registered trials

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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.