Initially identified in 1978[1], spectrum bias refers to evaluating the ability of a diagnostic test in a biased group of patients which leads to an overestimation of the sensitivity and specificity of the test. [1][2] Examples are initial overestimates of the sensitivity and specificity of the carcinoembryonic antigen[3] and urinary dipstick tests. [4]
The inflated results can occur when the diagnostic test is compared in a healthy population versus a population with advanced disease.
If properly analyzed, recognition of heterogeneity of subgroups can lead to insights about the test's performance in varying populations. [5]
References
- ^ a b Ransohoff DF, Feinstein AR (1978). "Problems of spectrum and bias in evaluating the efficacy of diagnostic tests". N. Engl. J. Med. 299 (17): 926–30. PMID 692598.
- ^ Goehring C, Perrier A, Morabia A (2004). "Spectrum bias: a quantitative and graphical analysis of the variability of medical diagnostic test performance". Statistics in medicine 23 (1): 125–35. doi:. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document. PMID 14695644.
- ^ Fletcher RH (1986). "Carcinoembryonic antigen". Ann. Intern. Med. 104 (1): 66–73. PMID 3510056.
- ^ Lachs MS, Nachamkin I, Edelstein PH, Goldman J, Feinstein AR, Schwartz JS (1992). "Spectrum bias in the evaluation of diagnostic tests: lessons from the rapid dipstick test for urinary tract infection". Ann. Intern. Med. 117 (2): 135–40. PMID 1605428.
- ^ Mulherin SA, Miller WC (2002). "Spectrum bias or spectrum effect? Subgroup variation in diagnostic test evaluation". Ann. Intern. Med. 137 (7): 598–602. PMID 12353947.
See also
A biased sample is a statistical sample of a population in which some members of the population are less likely to be included than othersDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic