Evidence mapPaperPMID 40301668Full record

ArticleEye (London, England)2025

Diagnostic utility of artificial intelligence software through non-mydriatic digital retinography in the screening of diabetic retinopathy: an overview of reviews.

Agustín Ciapponi, Jamile Ballivian, Carolina Gentile, Jhonatan R Mejia, Jessica Ruiz-Baena, Ariel Bardach

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Eye (London, England), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Agustín CiapponiInstituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria (IECS), Buenos Aires, Argentina. aciapponi@iecs.org.ar.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5142-6122
Jamile BallivianInstituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria (IECS), Buenos Aires, Argentina.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2495-8040
Carolina GentileHospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Servicio de Oftalmología, Buenos Aires, Argentina.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2369-8785
Jhonatan R MejiaInstituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria (IECS), Buenos Aires, Argentina.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9846-8503
Jessica Ruiz-BaenaÀrea d'Avaluació i Qualitat, Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya (AQuAS), Catalunya, España.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0367-1489
Ariel BardachInstituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria (IECS), Buenos Aires, Argentina.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4437-0073

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate the capability of artificial intelligence (AI) in screening for diabetic retinopathy (DR) utilizing digital retinography captured by non-mydriatic (NM) ≥45° cameras, focusing on diagnosis accuracy, effectiveness, and clinical safety.

methodsWe performed an overview of systematic reviews (SRs) up to May 2023 in Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Web of Science. We used AMSTAR-2 tool to assess the reliability of each SR. We reported meta-analysis estimates or ranges of diagnostic performance figures.

resultsOut of 1336 records, ten SRs were selected, most deemed low or critically low quality. Eight primary studies were included in at least five of the ten SRs and 125 in less than five SRs. No SR reported efficacy, effectiveness, or safety outcomes. The sensitivity and specificity for referable DR were 68-100% and 20-100%, respectively, with an AUROC range of 88 to 99%. For detecting DR at any stage, sensitivity was 79-100%, and specificity was 50-100%, with an AUROC range of 93 to 98%.

conclusionsAI demonstrates strong diagnostic potential for DR screening using NM cameras, with adequate sensitivity but variable specificity. While AI is increasingly integrated into routine practice, this overview highlights significant heterogeneity in AI models and the cameras used. Additionally, our study enlightens the low quality of existing systematic reviews and the significant challenge of integrating the rapidly growing volume of emerging evidence in this field. Policymakers should carefully evaluate AI tools in specific contexts, and future research must generate updated high-quality evidence to optimize their application and improve patient outcomes.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceDiabetic RetinopathyDiagnostic Techniques, OphthalmologicalMass ScreeningRetinaSoftwareHumansReproducibility of ResultsSensitivity and Specificity

Identifiers

PMID40301668
PMCPMC12209420

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.