Analysis of the methodological characteristics of the primary studies included in the meta-analysis
| Characteristic | Number of studies (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| All >(n = 63) | AFB+ samples >(n = 56) | AFB− samples >(n = 60) | |
| PTB, pulmonary tuberculosis. | |||
| Type of respiratory specimen | |||
| Sputum | 8 (13) | 6 (11) | 8 (13) |
| Bronchial secretions | 1 (2) | 0 | 1 (2) |
| Mixed respiratory secretions | 54 (86) | 50 (89) | 50 (83) |
| AFB method | |||
| Fluorescence | 45 (71) | 43 (77) | 42 (70) |
| Carbolfuchsin | 7 (11) | 3 (5) | 7 (12) |
| Unreported | 11 (17) | 10 (18) | 11 (18) |
| Quality of reference test | |||
| At least two culture media | 41 (65) | 38 (68) | 38 (63) |
| One culture media | 15 (24) | 11 (20) | 15 (25) |
| Unreported | 7 (11) | 7 (13) | 7 (12) |
| Commercial NAAT used | |||
| Amplicor | 25 | 22 | 22 |
| Cobas Amplicor | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| BDProbeTecET | 12 | 10 | 12 |
| E-MTD | 14 | 12 | 14 |
| LCx | 10 | 9 | 10 |
| Population of recruitment | |||
| MTB culture or suspected PTB | 29 (46) | 27 (48) | 27 (45) |
| High PTB suspicion | 3 (5) | 3 (5) | 3 (5) |
| Suspected PTB or treatment monitoring | 10 (16) | 9 (16) | 10 (17) |
| Other | 5 (8) | 4 (7) | 4 (7) |
| Screening | 3 (5) | 3 (5) | 3 (5) |
| Unreported | 13 (21) | 10 (18) | 13 (22) |
| On anti-TB treatment | |||
| Yes | 31 (49) | 29 (52) | 31 (52) |
| No | 15 (24) | 12 (21) | 14 (23) |
| Unreported | 20 (32) | 15 (27) | 18 (30) |
| Method of sample selection | |||
| Consecutive or random selection | 20 (32) | 17 (30) | 20 (33) |
| Case control | 5 (8) | 5 (9) | 4 (7) |
| Consecutive/case control | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 1 (2) |
| Unreported | 37 (59) | 33 (59) | 35 (58) |
| Data collection modality | |||
| Prospective | 8 (13) | 7 (13) | 8 (13) |
| Retrospective | 5 (8) | 4 (7) | 5 (8) |
| Prospective/retrospective | 2 (3) | 2 (4) | 2 (3) |
| Unreported | 48 (76) | 43 (77) | 45 (75) |
| Independence of observation | |||
| Any blinding | 10 (16) | 7 (13) | 9 (15) |
| Unreported | 53 (84) | 49 (88) | 51 (85) |
| Clinical/demographic characteristics | |||
| Reported | 3 (5) | 3 (5) | 3 (5) |
| Unreported | 60 (95) | 53 (95) | 57 (95) |
| Distribution of TB severity | |||
| Results of quantitative culture reported | 7 (11) | 7 (13) | 7 (12) |
| Unreported | 56 (89) | 49 (88) | 53 (88) |
| Other diagnoses in the control group | |||
| Reported | 1 (2) | 1 (2) | 1 (2) |
| Unreported | 62 (98) | 55 (98) | 59 (98) |