Limits in the search date for rapid reviews of diagnostic test accuracy studies

Limiting the search date is a common approach utilised in therapeutic/interventional rapid reviews. Yet the accuracy of pooled estimates is unknown when applied to rapid reviews of diagnostic test accuracy studies. Data from all systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy studies published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, until February 2022 were collected. Meta-analyses with at least five studies were included to emulate rapid reviews by limiting the search to the recent 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years. The magnitude of the pooled area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity for the full meta-analysis and the rapid reviews were compared. A total of 846 diagnostic meta-analyses were included. When the search date was limited to the recent 10 and 15 years, more than 75% and 80% of meta-analyses presented less than 5% difference between the pooled AUC, sensitivity and specificity of the full meta-analysis and the rapid review. There was little gain in the precision of the pooled estimates when the emulated rapid reviews included more than 15 years in the search. Rapid reviews restricted by search date are a valid and reliable approach for diagnostic test accuracy studies. Robust evidence can be achieved by restricting the search date to the recent 10-15 years. Future studies need to examine the reduction in workload and time to finish the rapid reviews under different search date limits.

Automated summary

This study investigates the application of limiting search dates in rapid reviews of diagnostic test accuracy studies and compares the accuracy differences between full meta-analyses and rapid reviews. The findings suggest that restricting the search dates to the most recent 10-15 years can yield reliable evidence.