Diagnostic Tests Toolkit [Paperback]

Diagnostic Tests Toolkit

Finding the evidence for diagnostic tests

Establishing an evidence-based methodology to assess the effectiveness of diagnostic tests has posed problems for many years. Now that the framework is in place health professionals can find and appraise the evidence for themselves. With Diagnostic Tests Toolkit clinicians and junior researchers can interpret the evidence for the effectiveness of different types of diagnostic tests, or develop their own research using the successful step-by-step format of the Toolkit series. Written by renowned clinical researchers, this is the first basic guide to evidence-based diagnosis. It is equally valuable to starters in clinical research and those needing a quick refresher on the core elements of evidence-based diagnosis.Acknowledgements, viii

Introduction, ix

Chapter 1 Diagnosis in evidence-based medicine, 1

Diagnosis and screening, 1

Screening, 3

Symptoms, 3

Signs and elicited symptoms, 4

Bedside or point-of-care testing, 4

Laboratory tests, 4

Basic structure of studies of diagnostic tests, 4

Further reading, 5

Chapter 2 Evaluating new diagnostic tests, 6

Technical accuracy (Can it work?), 7

Place in the clinical pathway (Where does the test fi t in the existing clinical pathway?), 9

Ability of the test to diagnose or exclude the target condition (Does it work in patients?), 10

The effect of the test on patient outcomes (Are patients better off?), 12

Cost-effectiveness (Is it worth the cost?), 14

Further reading, 15