Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Prospective or retrospective diagnostic accuracy studies with at least 10 participants were included. Reviews, case reports, editorials, letters and comments were excluded.
Specific interventions included in the review
Studies of PET using FDG were eligible for inclusion. Studies on FDG imaging using gamma cameras were excluded.
Reference standard test against which the new test was compared
No inclusion criteria relating to the reference standard were specified. However, the following reference standards were considered acceptable by the authors: histology or cytology; focal 131-I-uptake; pathognomic bone scan or magnetic resonance imaging for bone metastases; computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging for brain metastases; and progression of radiologically documented lesions suspect for malignancy.
Participants included in the review
Studies of patients suspected of recurrent follicular and papillary thyroid cancer were included. Where reported, the mean age of the patients ranged from 41 to 67 years.
Outcomes assessed in the review
No inclusion criteria relating to the outcomes were specified. The outcomes reported in the review included sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
Two unblinded reviewers independently selected the studies, and any differences were resolved by consensus.