Clinical Diagnosis Flashcards
2 parts of clinical vet med
- make diagnosis
- provision of treatment and control methods
What is the main thing leading to medical problems?
-diagnosis
*needs to be accurate to get any value
*lots of uncertainty, but need to quantify it
Clinical data interpretation
means nothing unless interpreted in the context of expected values for the population
How do we define normal?
Gaussian: mean +/- 2 standard deviations
Percentile: 2.5th to 97.5th percentile
Issues with using guassian and percentile definitions
-few diagnostic test results fit a Gaussian distribution
-both methods assume all diseases have same prevalence
-leads to Diagnosis of diseaseBUT the only normal animals are the ones that have not been tested yet
Diagnosis of the disease
95% of normal subjects fall within the reference range for a test, but 5% of normal does not
Abnormal due to disease presence
-gold standard. If disease present then considered abnormal
eg. whether cows get pregnant
-lower serum rates associated with higher open rates in cows
-younger will be at most risk of something go wrong because this is the first time breeding
Uncertainty of clinical data
Imagine if it were always:
- always present in patients with disease, so if absent= no disease
- Never present in patients who do not have disease therefore if disease present= disease
**not always the case! Need clinical judgement
Diagnoses
-usually based on signs, symptoms and tests
-every diagnostic test has some false positive and false negatives
*therefore ruling in or out disease becomes an assessment of probabilities
Actions for diagnosing disease
- Do nothing
- Get more information (test or response to treatment)
- Treat without obtaining more information
**Choice usually depends on probability of disease
Diagnostic Test
-Any technique that differentiates healthy from disease individuals or between different diseases
Accuracy
Degree of agreement between estimated value and the true value
-reflects validity (lack of bias) and reproducibility (precision or repeatability)
Eqn of accuracy
Accuracy= validity+reliability
Validity
Ability to measure what it is supposed to measure, without being influenced by other systemic errors
**Valid=Unbiased
-does not ensure accuracy
-not always repeatable
Reliability
The tendency to give the same results on repeated measures of the same sample
-a reliable test gives repeatable results, over time, locations or populations
**does not ensure accuracy
Sources of false positive and negative results
- Lab error
- Improper sample handling
- Recording errors
What effects Lab error?
-depends on both analytical accuracy and precision
-can vary between labs or within labs
-does the lab have recognized QA/QC programs?
Specific false negative results
-improper timing of test
-wrong sample
-natural or induced tolerance
-non-specific inhibitors
False positive results
-group cross-reactions- looking for one thing, detecting something else
-cross contamination
What is a test that is VALID?
The accuracy of any diagnostic test should be established by a BLIND comparison to an independent and valid criterion for infection or disease status (GOLD STANDARD)
ex. culture of organism, post-mortem examination, biopsy, long term follow up
Pathognomonic Tests
Absolute predictor of disease or disease agent
-can have false negatives
eg.Culture of T. foetus
eg. salmonella
eg. MAP (Johne’s disease bacteria)
***these examples all involved with different times of shedding so can have false negatives
Surrogate tests
Detect secondary changes that will hopefully predict the presence or absence of disease or the disease agent
*Can have false negatives and false positive
eg. Serology
eg. Serum chemistry
How to determine if the test will work for our purpose?
- Diagnostic validity
2.Understand our test subject
Diagnostic validity
The proportion of affected or non-affected animals will be correctly identified by the test
**the sensitivity and specificity
SOURCE: lab or test manufacturer
Understanding our test subject
-What is the prevalence of the disease in the source population for our subject
-What is the pre-test probability that our patient has the disease
SOURCES: signalment, history, clinical exam, published literature and clinical judgement
2x2 tables
TYPES:
- Exam results of diagnostic test
- Determine how much more likely one probelm is vs another in terms of causing a disease
Diagnostic validity 2x2 table
Unique to diagnostic test interpretation
Want actual health status (disease present vs absent)
compared with Test result (positive vs. negative)
Sensitivity
-The proportion of subjects with the disease who have a positive test
>indicates how good a test is at detecting disease
>1-false negative rate
SnNout
When using tests with very high sensitivity, negative results help to Rule out disease
Specificity
The proportion of the subjects without the disease who have a negative test result
-indicates how good the test is at identifying the non-diseased
-1-False positive
SpPin
When using tests with high specificity, positive results rule in disease
Cut offs
-used to distinguish positive and negative test results
-will determine the sensitivity and specificity
-can be changed to get what you need out of the test
Adjustments of cut off
-Finding more positives (sensitivity) = drop the cut off
-find more negatives (Higher specificity)= raise the cut off
**remember that sensitivity and specificity are inversely related (raising one, decreases the other)
Constant sensitivity and specificity
-usually these are assumed to be constant
**especially in this class