Search strategy for "Diagnostic accuracy of tests to detect hepatitis B surface antigen: a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis"

The search included synonyms and subject headings on three topics, thus three search strategies were devised. The first search looked at three search concepts: hepatitis B, diagnostic tests and diagnostic accuracy. The second search looked at three search concepts: hepatitis B, screening and testing strategies. The third search looked at three search concepts: hepatitis B, RNA tests and diagnosic accuracy. The following databases were searched: MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Science Citation Index Expanded, Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science, SCOPUS, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS) and WHO Global Index Medicus. Searches were conduced during April 2015. The search was supplemented by searching for ongoing studies in WHO’s International Clinical Trials Registry. The search aimed to retrieve all relevant studies regardless of publication status, however, where possible, the search strategy was limited to the English language and human subjects.