Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36208346›Full record

ArticleActa neurochirurgica2023

When is a staging scan required for newly diagnosed brain lesions on CT? A multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Ahmad M S Ali, Amir A Varasteh, Anastasios B Konteas, John A Doherty, Noorulain Iqbal, Hemanth Vupputuri, Andrew R Brodbelt

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Acta neurochirurgica, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 48% of its field
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

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

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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 at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ahmad M S AliDepartment of Neurosurgery, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK. a.ali20@nhs.net.ORCID 0000-0001-9437-4262
Amir A VarastehDepartment of Neurosurgery, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
Anastasios B KonteasDepartment of Neurosurgery, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
John A DohertyDepartment of Neurosurgery, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
Noorulain IqbalDepartment of Neurosurgery, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
Hemanth VupputuriDepartment of Neurosurgery, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
Andrew R BrodbeltDepartment of Neurosurgery, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.
University of Liverpool · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeFor patients with a new lesion on CT head (CTH) suspected to be a brain tumor, a staging chest, abdomen, and pelvis CT (CTCAP) is only warranted if a metastatic lesion is suspected. Unnecessary CTCAPs are often performed too early in a patient's journey due to poor patient selection. We sought to create a protocol to guide the selection of patients for CTCAPs based on their CTH findings.

methodsPatients with suspected new brain tumors discussed at the neuro-oncology MDT at a tertiary neurosurgical center were reviewed. Patient demographics and CTH features were collected. For protocol creation, data was collected from July to December 2020, and predictor variables were identified using multivariate logistic regression. Candidate protocols were assessed in a protocol testing stage using similar data collected from January to June 2021. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) were computed for each protocol.

resultsVariables from the protocol creation stage (222 patients) were assessed in the protocol testing stage (216 patients). The most sensitive variables predicting metastatic disease were a previous history of cancer, multiple lesions, lesion < 4 cm, and infratentorial location. A protocol recommending a CTCAP based on the presence of one of these features has a sensitivity of 99.1% (AUC 0.704).

conclusionsUnnecessary CTCAPs are reduced if performed only if a patient has one of the four identified predictor variables.

Indexed as

Brain NeoplasmsTomography, X-Ray ComputedBrainHumansLogistic ModelsNeoplasm StagingRetrospective StudiesBrain metastasesBrain neoplasmsComputed tomographyHealth care costsResource allocation

Identifiers

PMID36208346
OpenAlexW4303646551

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.