title: Critically appraising studies reporting assessing diagnostic tests.
abstract: Studies that report the sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests are susceptible to flaws that can introduce bias and lead to incorrect estimates. This article uses the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies checklist to describe how to appraise a study reporting diagnostic test comparisons critically. The article also contains a glossary of terms that are useful in discussions about diagnostic tests.
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames, IA 50011, USA. oconnor@iastate.edu
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.forename: Richard B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019937:Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures / Q000592:standards / Q000662:veterinary*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014730:Veterinary Medicine / Q000592:standards*