Study designs of evaluations included in the review
The authors did not report any specific inclusion criteria relating to the study designs.
Specific interventions included in the review
Studies comparing EUS and CT techniques were eligible for inclusion. The included studies used different EUS and CT techniques.
Reference standard test against which the new test was compared
Studies that reported a reference standard of surgery, biopsy or clinical follow-up in the majority of patients were eligible for inclusion. In the included studies, surgical examination was obtained in 71% of all patients (range: 19 to 71).
Participants included in the review
Studies including patients with suspected or established pancreatic cancer were eligible for inclusion. Overall, 71% of the included patients had pancreatic cancer.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Studies assessing pancreatic cancer detection, staging and/or resectability were eligible for inclusion.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors did not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many reviewers performed the selection.