Asian Journal of Medical Principles and Clinical Practice

Checking Consistency among the Four Basic Indicators of Diagnostic Testing in Saudi Medical Journals

Hamzah Abdul Majid Serag

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, P.O.Box 80200, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.

Ali Muhammad Ali Rushdi *

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, P.O.Box 80200, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

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Abstract

We provide a novel method for validating any purported set of the four most prominent indicators of diagnostic testing (Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive Predictive Value, and Negative Predictive Value), by observing that these indicators constitute three rather than four independent quantities. This observation has virtually been unheard of in the open medical literature. We defined two functions, which serve as consistency criteria, since each of them checks consistency for any set of four numerical values claimed to be the four basic diagnostic indicators. Most of the data we came across in various Saudi medical journals met our criteria for consistency, but in a few cases, there were obvious unexplained blunders. We relate our present findings to the more general issue of detection and ramifications of unwelcome flawed data.

Keywords: Diagnostic testing, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, consistency criterion, flawed data.

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