The assessment of the quality of reporting of systematic reviews/meta-analyses in diagnostic tests published by authors in China.
BACKGROUND
The quality of reporting in systematic reviews (SRs)/meta-analyses (MAs) of diagnostic tests published by authors in China has not been evaluated. The aims of present study are to evaluate the quality of reporting in diagnostic SRs/MAs using the PRISMA statement and determine the changes in the quality of reporting over time.


METHODS
According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we searched five databases including Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of knowledge, to identify SRs/MAs on diagnostic tests. The searches were conducted on July 14, 2012 and the cut off for inclusion of the SRs/MAs was December 31(st) 2011. The PRISMA statement was used to assess the quality of reporting. Analysis was performed using Excel 2003, RevMan 5.


RESULTS
A total of 312 studies were included. Fifteen diseases systems were covered. According to the PRISMA checklist, there had been serious reporting flaws in following items: structured summary (item 2, 22.4%), objectives (item 4, 18.9%), protocol and registration (item 5, 2.6%), risk of bias across studies (item 15, 26.3%), funding (item 27, 28.8%). The subgroup analysis showed that there had been some statistically significant improvement in total compliance for 9 PRISMA items after the PRISMA was released, 6 items were statistically improved regarding funded articles, 3 items were statistically improved for CSCD articles, and there was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of reviews reporting on 22 items for SCI articles (P<0.050).


CONCLUSIONS
The numbers of diagnostic SRs/MAs is increasing annually. The quality of reporting has measurably been improved over the previous years. Unfortunately, there are still many deficiencies in the reporting including protocol and registration, search, risk of bias across studies, and funding. Future Chinese reviewers should address issues on these aspects.
Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China ; The First Clinical Medicine College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Long
L
Ge
Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Jian-Cheng
JC
Wang
Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China ; The First Clinical Medicine College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Jin-Long
JL
Li
Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China ; The First Clinical Medicine College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Li
L
Liang
Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China ; The First Clinical Medicine College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Ni
N
An
Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China ; The First Clinical Medicine College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Xin-Tong
XT
Shi
Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China ; The First Clinical Medicine College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Yin-Chun
YC
Liu
Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Jin-Hui
JH
Tian
D001319:Authorship / Q000592:standards*; D002681:China; D019992:Databases as Topic; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D011642:Publications / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*; D012196:Review Literature as Topic