Review article

https://doi.org/10.11613/BM.2016.034

On determining the most appropriate test cut-off value: the case of tests with continuous results

Farrokh Habibzadeh orcid.org/0000-0001-5360-2900 ; Adjunct Professor, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran,
Parham Habibzadeh orcid.org/0000-0002-2086-0425 ; Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Mahboobeh Yadollahie orcid.org/0000-0002-1730-3863 ; R&D Headquarters, Petroleum Industry Health Organization, Shiraz, Iran,

Abstract

There are several criteria for determination of the most appropriate cut-off value in a diagnostic test with continuous results. Mostly based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, there are various methods to determine the test cut-off value. The most common criteria are the point on ROC curve where the sensitivity and specificity of the test are equal; the point on the curve with minimum distance from the left-upper corner of the unit square; and the point where the Youden’s index is maximum. There are also methods mainly based on Bayesian decision analysis. Herein, we show that a proposed method that maximizes the weighted number needed to misdiagnose, an index of diagnostic test effectiveness we previously proposed, is the most appropriate technique compared to the aforementioned ones. For determination of the cut-off value, we need to know the pretest probability of the disease of interest as well as the costs incurred by misdiagnosis. This means that even for a certain diagnostic test, the cut-off value is not universal and should be determined for each region and for each disease condition.

Keywords

ROC curve; diagnostic tests; sensitivity; specificity; prevalence

Hrčak ID:

167697

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/167697

Publication date:

15.10.2016.

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