Study designs of evaluations included in the review
All prospective studies of electron-beam CT were eligible for inclusion in the review. Abstracts which were not peer reviewed were excluded.
Specific interventions included in the review
Articles relating to coronary artery calcium and its detection by fluoroscopy or electron-beam CT were eligible for inclusion in the review.
Reference standard test against which the new test was compared
No inclusion or exclusion criteria were specified that related to any reference standard.
Included studies evaluated the diagnostic performance of coronary artery calcium detected by electron-beam CT in determining the presence of angiographically evident atherscerosis. Angiographic definitions of significant coronary artery disease used in included studies were equal to or greater than 50%, 79% or 75% stenosis.
Participants included in the review
Primary studies could includes symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with and without known coronary artery disease.
The mean age (where stated) of participants in included studies ranged from 44 to 56 years. The proportion of male participants (where stated) ranged from 40-91%.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Articles were excluded from the review if they failed to present sufficient data for the calculation of sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
Only the author made decisions about whether a study should be included.