FACTORS INVOLVED IN VALIDITY MEASUREMENTS OF DIAGNOSTIC-TESTS FOR APPROXIMAL CARIES - A METAANALYSIS

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.