BACKGROUND To determine the accuracy of transvaginal ultrasonography, sonohysterography and diagnostic hysteroscopy for the investigation of abnormal uterine bleeding in premenopausal women. DESIGN Systematic review of common diagnostic imaging tests. DATA SOURCES Relevant papers were identified through electronic searching of MEDLINE (1980 to July 2001) and EMBASE (1980 to July 2001) and m...

OBJECTIVE To assess the cervicovaginal fetal fibronectin test to predict preterm delivery. DATA SOURCES We searched MEDLINE, Current Contents, Index Medicus, and proceedings of meetings for studies published between 1991 and June 1997. METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION Inclusion criteria were prospective cohort study; test performed between 20 and 36 weeks' gestation; fetal fibronectin measured by...

BACKGROUND Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is an alternative to diagnostic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for investigating biliary obstruction. The use of MRCP, a non-invasive procedure, may prevent the use of unnecessary invasive procedures. The aim of the study was to compare the findings of MRCP with those of ERCP by the computation of accuracy stat...

PURPOSE To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging of the knee in identifying traumatic intraarticular knee lesions. METHOD 300 patients with a clinical diagnosis of traumatic intraarticular knee lesions underwent prearthoscopic magnetic resonance imaging. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, likelihood ratio for a positive...

The clinical utility of Platelia trade mark Aspergillus galactomannan antigen for the early diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis was prospectively assessed in 70 consecutive lung transplant recipients. Sera were collected twice weekly and tested for galactomannan. Invasive aspergillosis was documented in 17.1% (12/70) of the patients. Using the generalized estimating equation model, at the cutof...

Likelihood ratios are extensively used to evaluate the performances of diagnostic tests and to update prior odds of disease to posttest odds. Since few tests are truly 100% accurate, including many used as “gold standards,” it is important to be able to estimate likelihood ratios in cases where no such standard is available. In this paper, methods to calculate point and interval estimates for l...

emergency physicians, like other specialists, are faced with different patients and various situations each day. they have to use ancillary diagnostic tools like laboratory tests and imaging studies to be able to manage them. in most cases, numerous tests are available. tests with the least error and the most accuracy are more desirable. the power of a test to separate patients from healthy one...

aim and background: some of obsessive-compulsive disorder (ocd) patients believe that their unpleasant thoughts can influence the external events. the aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the contents of thought-action fusion and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in patients with ocd. methods and materials: in this cross-sectional correlative study 60 ocd patients selected b...

background optimal use of the clinical examination aids physicians in identifying patients at risk for meningitis. the low specificity of the meningeal signs may be due to the presence of cervical arthritis and spondylosis. one of the most sensitive maneuvers in the diagnosis of meningitis is jolt accentuation of headache. patients and methods a descriptive research was performed on suspected a...