Clinical practice guidelines state that the tissue source of low back pain cannot be specified
in the majority of patients. However, there has been no systematic review of the accuracy of …

Background & Aims: Ultrasound-based transient elastography is a promising noninvasive
alternative to liver biopsy for detecting hepatic fibrosis. However, its overall test performance …

Objective To summarize the psychometric properties of the PHQ2 and PHQ9 as screening
instruments for depression. Interventions We identified 17 validation studies conducted in …

Studies of diagnostic accuracy require more sophisticated methods for their meta-analysis
than studies of therapeutic interventions. A number of different, and apparently divergent …

The development of noninvasive markers of liver fibrosis is a clinical and research priority.
The aspartate aminotransferase‐to‐platelet ratio index (APRI) is a promising tool with limited …

BACKGROUND The accurate diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related fibrosis is crucial
for prognostication and treatment decisions. Due to the limitations of biopsy, noninvasive …

Purpose: To review the literature on the diagnostic performance of multidetector computed
tomographic (CT) angiography for assessment of symptomatic coronary artery disease, with …

Aims To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 64-slice multi-detector computed tomography
coronary angiography (64-SCTA) compared with the standard reference conventional …

Background. Hopelessness is considered a pre-eminent risk factor for suicide and non-fatal
self-harm. We aimed to quantify the ability of the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) to predict …

Background Conventional tests are not always helpful in making a diagnosis of tuberculous
pleurisy. Many studies have investigated the usefulness of interferon (IFN)-γ measurements …