Practice parameter: the usefulness of evoked potentials in identifying clinically silent lesions in patients with suspected multiple sclerosis (an evidence-based review)

CRD COMMENTARY: This was a diagnostic review of moderate quality. The objectives were clearly stated, but there were few details of any pre-specified inclusion or exclusion criteria. The literature search was very limited in that one electronic database was searched using only two search terms. This means that some important information may have been missed. In addition, there was no attempt to find unpublished data. Information about the methodology of the review process was not reported; for example, how decisions on the relevancy of the primary studies were made, whether more than one reviewer extracted the data, and how any discrepancies were resolved. The validity of the included studies was incorporated into a grading system, and poor-quality studies were excluded from the main analyses on which the conclusions were based. A narrative synthesis of the results was appropriate in view of the clinical heterogeneity between the included studies. The authors' conclusions appear to follow from the results.