A SIMEX approach for meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy studies with attention to ROC curves

Guolo Annamaria () and Pesantez Cabrera Tania Erika ()
Additional contact information
Guolo Annamaria: Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
Pesantez Cabrera Tania Erika: Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy

The International Journal of Biostatistics, 2023, vol. 19, issue 2, 455-471

Abstract: Bivariate random-effects models represent an established approach for meta-analysis of accuracy measures of a diagnostic test, which are typically given by sensitivity and specificity. A recent formulation of the classical model describes the test accuracy in terms of study-specific Receiver Operating Characteristics curves. In this way, the resulting summary curve can be thought of as an average of the study-specific Receiver Operating Characteristics curves. Within this framework, the paper shows that the standard likelihood approach for inference is prone to several issues. Small sample size can give rise to unreliable conclusions and convergence problems deeply affect the analysis. The proposed alternative is a simulation-extrapolation method, called SIMEX, developed within the measurement error literature. It suits the meta-analysis framework, as the accuracy measures provided by the studies are estimates rather than true values, and thus are prone to error. The methods are compared in a series of simulation studies, covering different scenarios of interest, including deviations from normality assumptions. SIMEX reveals a satisfactory strategy, providing more accurate inferential results if compared to the likelihood approach, while avoiding convergence failure. The approaches are applied to a meta-analysis of the accuracy of the ultrasound exam for diagnosing abdominal tuberculosis in HIV-positive subjects.

Keywords: diagnostic test; likelihood inference; multivariate meta-analysis; ROC curve; SIMEX (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1515/ijb-2022-0012 (text/html)
For access to full text, subscription to the journal or payment for the individual article is required.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bpj:ijbist:v:19:y:2023:i:2:p:455-471:n:11

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/ijb/html

DOI: 10.1515/ijb-2022-0012

Access Statistics for this article

The International Journal of Biostatistics is currently edited by Antoine Chambaz, Alan E. Hubbard and Mark J. van der Laan

More articles in The International Journal of Biostatistics from De Gruyter
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Peter Golla ().