Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37231347›Full record

SynthesisBMC medical research methodology2023

MetaBayesDTA: codeless Bayesian meta-analysis of test accuracy, with or without a gold standard.

Enzo Cerullo, Alex J Sutton, Hayley E Jones, Olivia Wu, Terry J Quinn, Nicola J Cooper

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC medical research methodology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 23 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 23 pooled it
–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

32 citing papers in PubMed, 23 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Multichannel machine learning for polysomnographic diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea: a Bayesian meta-analysis.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026
    Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Pooled it
  10. Pooled it
  11. Pooled it
  12. Awake speech recordings for machine learning diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea: a Bayesian meta-analysis.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2025
    Pooled it
  13. Pooled it
  14. Pooled it
  15. Pooled it
  16. Pooled it
  17. Pooled it
  18. Pooled it
  19. Pooled it
  20. Pooled it
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

6 authors.

Enzo CerulloBiostatistics Research Group, Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK. enzo.cerullo@bath.edu.
Alex J SuttonBiostatistics Research Group, Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
Hayley E JonesPopulation Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol Medical School, Bristol, UK.
Olivia WuComplex Reviews Support Unit, University of Leicester & University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Terry J QuinnComplex Reviews Support Unit, University of Leicester & University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Nicola J CooperBiostatistics Research Group, Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/M014533/1Medical Research Council MR/T044594/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe statistical models developed for meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies require specialised knowledge to implement. This is especially true since recent guidelines, such as those in Version 2 of the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Diagnostic Test Accuracy, advocate more sophisticated methods than previously. This paper describes a web-based application - MetaBayesDTA - that makes many advanced analysis methods in this area more accessible.

resultsWe created the app using R, the Shiny package and Stan. It allows for a broad array of analyses based on the bivariate model including extensions for subgroup analysis, meta-regression and comparative test accuracy evaluation. It also conducts analyses not assuming a perfect reference standard, including allowing for the use of different reference tests.

conclusionsDue to its user-friendliness and broad array of features, MetaBayesDTA should appeal to researchers with varying levels of expertise. We anticipate that the application will encourage higher levels of uptake of more advanced methods, which ultimately should improve the quality of test accuracy reviews.

Indexed as

Models, StatisticalSoftwareBayes TheoremHumansSensitivity and SpecificitySystematic Reviews as TopicApplicationDiagnostic test accuracyImperfect gold standardLatent classMeta-Analysis

Identifiers

PMID37231347
PMCPMC10210277

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.