Premium
Statistical methods for the estimation of sensitivity and specificity of site‐specific diagnostic tests
Author(s) -
Ahn C.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of periodontal research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.31
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1600-0765
pISSN - 0022-3484
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0765.1997.tb00544.x
Subject(s) - gold standard (test) , sensitivity (control systems) , diagnostic test , statistical hypothesis testing , diagnostic accuracy , statistical analysis , statistics , medicine , mathematics , radiology , engineering , emergency medicine , electronic engineering
The performance of periodontal diagnostic tests is often evaluated by estimating their sensitivity and specificity with respect to a traditionally accepted standard test regarded as a “gold standard” in making the diagnosis. Correlated samples of binary data arise in dental research. The fundamental unit for analysis is occasionally the site rather than the patient in site‐specific dental studies. Statistical methods that take into account the within‐patient correlation should be employed to estimate the sensitivity and the specificity of diagnostic tests since site‐specific results within a patient can be highly correlated. Several statistical methods are introduced for the estimation of the sensitivity and the specificity of site‐specific diagnostic tests; these techniques are applied to the data from a study involving an enzymatic diagnostic test to motivate and illustrate the estimation of the sensitivity and the specificity of periodontal diagnostic tests.