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Association between use of systematic reviews and national policy recommendations on screening newborn babies for rare diseases : systematic review and meta-analysis
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Taylor-Phillips, Sian, Stinton, Chris, Ferrante di Ruffano, Lavinia, Seedat, Farah, Clarke, Aileen and Deeks, Jonathan J. (2018) Association between use of systematic reviews and national policy recommendations on screening newborn babies for rare diseases : systematic review and meta-analysis. British Medical Journal, 361 . k1612. doi:10.1136/bmj.k1612 ISSN 0959-8146.
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Official URL: http://www.bmj.com/content/361/bmj.k1612
Abstract
Objective
To understand whether international differences in recommendations of whether to screen for rare diseases using the newborn blood spot test might in part be explained by use of systematic review methods.
Design
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Data sources
Website searches of 26 national screening organisations.
Eligibility criteria for study selection
Journal articles, papers, legal documents, presentations, conference abstracts, or reports relating to a national recommendation on whether to screen for any condition using the newborn blood spot test, with no restrictions on date or language.
Data extraction
Two reviewers independently assessed whether the recommendation for or against screening included systematic reviews, and data on test accuracy, benefits of early detection, and potential harms of overdiagnosis.
Analysis
The odds of recommending screening according to the use of systematic review methods was estimated across conditions using meta-analysis.
Results
93 reports were included that assessed 104 conditions across 14 countries, totalling 276 recommendations (units of analysis). Screening was favoured in 159 (58%) recommendations, not favoured in 98 (36%), and not recommended either way in 19 (7%). Only 60 (22%) of the recommendations included a systematic review. Use of a systematic review was associated with a reduced probability of screening being recommended (23/60 (38%) v 136/216 (63%), odds ratio 0.17, 95% confidence interval 0.07 to 0.43). Of the recommendations, evidence for test accuracy, benefits of early detection, and overdiagnosis was not considered in 115 (42%), 83 (30%), and 211 (76%), respectively.
Conclusions
Using systematic review methods is associated with a reduced probability of screening being recommended. Many national policy reviews of screening for rare conditions using the newborn blood spot test do not assess the evidence on the key benefits and harms of screening.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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Alternative Title: | |||||||
Subjects: | R Medicine > R Medicine (General) | ||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences > Population, Evidence & Technologies (PET) Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Blood -- Analysis, Infants -- Diseases -- Diagnosis, Medical screening, Systematic reviews (Medical research) | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | British Medical Journal | ||||||
Publisher: | BMJ Group | ||||||
ISSN: | 0959-8146 | ||||||
Official Date: | 9 May 2018 | ||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 361 | ||||||
Article Number: | k1612 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1136/bmj.k1612 | ||||||
Status: | Not Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 4 May 2018 | ||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 11 May 2018 | ||||||
RIOXX Funder/Project Grant: |
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