Table 1 Characteristics of the ten studies included in the systematic review on the diagnostic and triage accuracy of symptom checkers.
From: The diagnostic and triage accuracy of digital and online symptom checker tools: a systematic review
First author (year) | Study design | Participants | Intervention | Symptom checker(s) used | Comparator | Outcome measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hageman (2015)21 | Prospective cross-sectional study | 86 hand clinic patients | Outpatients prospectively input data and symptoms into symptom checker to guess diagnosis | WebMD | Diagnosis from a hand surgeon | Diagnostic accuracy (top 3) |
Semigran (2015)1 | Vignette cross-sectional study | 45 standardised vignettes: 15 emergency 15 non-emergency 15 self-care | Patient data and symptoms from various cases input into 23 symptom checkers | Ask MD, BetterMedicine. DocResponse, Doctor Diagnose, Drugs.com, EarlyDoc, Esagil, Family Doctor, FreeMD, HMS Family Health Guide, Healthline, Healthwise, Healthy Children, Isabel, iTriage, Mayo Clinic, MEDoctor, NHS Symptom Checkers, Steps2Care, Symcat, Symptify, Symptomate, WebMD | True diagnosis and appropriate triage advice | Diagnostic accuracy (primary diagnosis, top 3 and top 20 results) Triage accuracy (overall, emergency, non-emergency, self-care) |
Powley (2016)15 | Prospective cross-sectional study | 34 inflammatory arthritis patients | Patients completed NHS and WebMD symptom checkers with their presenting symptoms | NHS Choices, WebMD | Diagnosis from secondary care | Diagnostic accuracy (primary diagnosis, top 5) |
Berry (2019)22 | Retrospective cross-sectional study | ED records of 168 HIV/hepatitis C patients | Retrospective input of patient data into symptom checkers | Mayo Clinic, WebMD, Symptomate, Symcat, Isabel | Emergency department physician determined diagnosis | Diagnostic accuracy (primary diagnosis, top 3 and top 10) Triage accuracy |
Nazario Arancibia (2019)16 | Prospective cross-sectional study | 214 low-priority ED patients | Patients interviewed using questions from symptom checker to produce differentials | Mediktor | Emergency department diagnosis | Diagnostic accuracy (primary diagnosis, top 3, top 5, and top 10) |
Shen (2019)17 | Vignette cross-sectional study | 42 vignettes of ophthalmic conditions | Cases inputted into symptom checker to record results | WebMD | True diagnosis and appropriate triage advice | Diagnostic accuracy (primary diagnosis and top 3). Triage accuracy (emergency, non-emergency) |
Gilbert (2020)23 | Vignette cross-sectional study | 200 primary care vignettes | Vignettes used to input into symptom checkers and to assess general practitioners (GPs) | ADA, Babylon, Buoy, K health, Mediktor, Symptomate, WebMD, YourMD | True diagnosis and GPs | Diagnostic accuracy (primary diagnosis, top 3 and top 5) Triage accuracy |
Hill (2020)18 | Vignette cross-sectional study | 48 vignettes with ‘Australia-specific conditions’ | Vignettes summarised and entered in symptom checkers | 36 symptom checkers, 17 diagnostic only, 9 triage only advice. 10 that provide both. | True diagnosis and appropriate triage advice | Diagnostic accuracy (primary diagnosis, top 3 and top 10) Triage accuracy (emergency, non-emergency, self-care) |
Yu (2020)19 | Retrospective cross-sectional study | 100 ED patient records | Retrospectively using patient records to input information into symptom checkers | Drugs.com FamilyDoctor | Given ED triage level | Triage accuracy |
Yoshida (2021)20 | Vignette cross-sectional study | 27 vignettes of orofacial pain conditions | Vignettes of varied orofacial conditions input into symptom checkers | Esagil, FreeMD, Healthline, Isabel, Mayo Clinic, MEDoctor, Symcat, Symptify, Symptomate, WebMD, ADA | True diagnosis by resident in orofacial pain and oral medicine | Diagnostic accuracy (primary diagnosis, top 4) |
