Appraisal of: "Rice DB, Kloda LA, Levis B, Qi B, Kingsland E, Thombs BD. Are MEDLINE searches sufficient for systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the diagnostic accuracy of depression screening tools? A review of meta-analyses. J Psychosom Res. 2016 Au
This study builds on the findings of Enst, et al (2014), testing to see if limiting literature searches to only MEDLINE is sufficient when conducting a systematic search for diagnostic accuracy studies of depression screening tools.
Authors used a peer-reviewed strategy to search MEDLINE and PsycINFO for meta-analyses of diagnostic accuracy of depression screening tools, screened titles and abstracts for inclusion, which resulted in the identification of 16 meta-analyses to inform this review. Authors then conducted a known item search in MEDLINE to determine if primary studies used in the meta-analyses were indexed in that database. For those studies not found in MEDLINE, authors searched a core set of databases and Google Scholar to identify where studies were indexed.
94% (375/398) (range: 83-100%) of the primary studies included in the 16 meta-analyses were indexed in MEDLINE. Of the 23 primary studies not indexed in MEDLINE, 71% were located in Scopus, 64% in PsycINFO, and/or 50% in Embase.