Hm. Vanrijkom et Eh. Verdonschot, FACTORS INVOLVED IN VALIDITY MEASUREMENTS OF DIAGNOSTIC-TESTS FOR APPROXIMAL CARIES - A METAANALYSIS, Caries research, 29(5), 1995, pp. 364-370
In this study, a meta-analysis was performed on published validity par
ameters of visual inspection, radiographic examination and visual insp
ection upon fibreoptic transillumination (FOTI) in approximal caries d
iagnosis. It was the objective to investigate the influence of the dia
gnostic test, the study design and the validation method on reported v
alidity. Sensitivities and specificities reported in the literature we
re transformed into D-z values, representing the performance of a diag
nostic method above chance, or of the observer using it, in a single p
arameter. D-z values were neither statistically significantly differen
t between visual inspection, radiographic examination and FOTI nor bet
ween 'weak' and 'strong' validation methods (p > 0.05). D-z values obt
ained from in vivo studies were significantly different from those obt
ained from in vitro studies (p < 0.05), indicating that study design h
ad a significant impact on the measurement of the validity of the eval
uated test for approximal caries diagnosis.