Abstract
Pathologists need to assess diagnostic tests and to decide whether to incorporate a test into their practice and decision-making process. This requires them to understand and interpret the technical and clinical characteristics of the tests. The technical utility of tests is dependent on their technical accuracy and precision which are determined by identifying and quantifying measurement error. Clinical utility of diagnostic tests is dependent on the ability of the test to correctly distinguish diseased state from the unaffected state; the clinical accuracy is defined using terms such as sensitivity and specificity.
However, knowing the accuracy of a test is not enough for complete assessment of that test; pathologists should also consider clinical applicability by answering questions such as “Do my patients benefit from this test?” Furthermore, they should consider the financial burden of the test on the laboratory using tools such as cost-effectiveness analysis.
In this chapter, we provide a framework for assessment of diagnostic tests and using a stepwise approach explain the issues of test accuracy and applicability.
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Momeni, A., Pincus, M., Libien, J. (2018). Assessing Diagnostic Tests. In: Introduction to Statistical Methods in Pathology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60543-2_2
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