TAILIEUCHUNG - Systematic reviews of test accuracy studies in reproductive health

Overall Health: Early pregnancy and childbear- ing negatively affect the overall health of young women and their children. In poor countries, ado- lescent mothers are twice as likely to die from preg- nancy- or childbirth-related causes as older moth- ers. Data from 15 developing countries reveal that adolescents under the age of 17 are far less likely to receive skilled prenatal and delivery care than women between the ages of 19 and 23 (Reynolds et al., 2003). Moreover, children of young mothers are more likely to be born prematurely and at low birth weights, as well as more likely to be stillborn or. | Systematic reviews of test accuracy studies in reproductive health Honest H Khan KS Department of Obstetrics Gynaecology Birmingham United Kingdom ABSTRACT Testing whether used for diagnosis or screening is a critical part of the clinical process in reproductive health. It is now accepted that absence of clear summaries of individual research studies on clinical tests is a major impediment in evidencebased practice. Just as systematic reviews of effectiveness of therapeutic and preventative interventions have been pursued over the last decades so attention is now being given to research on systematic reviews of test accuracy studies. This paper delineates the process of reviewing test accuracy literatures in order to allow readers to critically appraise such reviews. INTRODUCTION In women s health over the last decade there has been a focus on systematic reviews of effectiveness of therapeutic and preventative interventions. This is evident from the large number of reviews found in the Cochrane Library and the WHO Reproductive Health Library. Recently however systematic reviews identifying appraising and summarising the results of screening and diagnostic test evaluations have gained increasing visibility in the medical literature. Reviewers attention is becoming focussed on systematic reviews of test accuracy literature 1 2 3 . Considering the clinical process Figure 1. Temporal relation of the need for diagnostic and therapeutic evidence in the clinical process this development is hardly surprising. After all clinicians cannot use effective therapies without making an accurate diagnosis first. Potential harm might come to patients as results of delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis and consequent administration of wrong treatments . Accurate tests on the other hand allow timely diagnosis correct prognosis and appropriate treatments. Considering the clinical process this development is hardly surprising. After all clinicians cannot use effective therapies without .

• Sức khỏe phụ nữ
• Leasehold Interest
• Easements
• Cognitive Deficits
• Rodent Animal Models
• Neuropsychiatric Disorders
• diagnostic criteria