Diagnostic Tests in Neonatology: Evaluation and Interpretation Using Sepsis as an Example

Abstract

Diagnostic clinical tests are becoming increasingly important in medicine. In the case of neonatal sepsis, a number of new clinical laboratory tests have emerged to aid in diagnosis. In this article, the example of neonatal sepsis is used to review preconditions for evaluating a diagnostic test, common measures of test performance (eg, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, positive and negative likelihood ratios). Reference values of these measures for a good diagnostic test are also reviewed. The interpretation of receiver operating characteristic curves for comparing diagnostic tests, determining the optimal cut-off for quantitative tests and assessing diagnostic accuracy, is also examined.