title: Meta-analysis for combining Bayesian probabilities.
abstract: Bayesian analysis is a method by which the reliability of diagnostic tests can be determined. It produces a probability of a patient having the disease given a positive test result (posterior probability). If more than one study of a given test's diagnostic accuracy is done, then how can we determine which of these studies has produced the most reliable posterior probability? Meta-analysis is a method whereby data from different studies can be combined. This paper proposes that meta-analysis more accurately estimates the true Bayesian posterior probability than other methods of data pooling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Letterman Army Medical Center, Presidio of San Francisco, California 94129-6700.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Velanovich
mesh_terms: D001499:Bayes Theorem; D003933:Diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic