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U.VA. RESEARCHER RECOMMENDS STANDARDS TESTING DIAGNOSTIC TESTSDiagnostic tests have become an integral part of medical care. However, physicians have been concerned for decades about the accuracy of the clinical trials of these tests. In an editorial in the January issue of the Clinical Chemistry, Dr. David E. Bruns, professor and associate director of clinical chemistry at the University of Virginia Health System, recommends that researchers use the Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD). "Despite the great reliance on medical tests, we often do not know how well a test for a condition can detect that condition, or even whether the test will be useful at all in a specific patient," Bruns said. "Part of this problem stems from the recently documented fact that papers on medical tests are unclear and incomplete, even in the best medical journals. "STARD is intended to improve the reporting of 'tests of tests' so that doctors will have clear information on which to base the selection of tests and the interpretation of the test results in each patient. We hope that patients will avoid the discomfort and expense of unnecessary tests and will receive maximal diagnostic benefit from the best tests selected by their doctors." STARD guidelines include information on:
STARD is being endorsed by several major medical journals, in their January issues, including Annals Of Internal Medicine, Lancet and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Bruns hopes that through these editorials, researchers will become familiar with STARD and its importance in improving the reporting of diagnostic tests. December 31, 2002 |