Veterinary radiologic error rate as determined by necropsy.

Laterality Errors in Radiology Reports Generated With and Without Voice Recognition Software: Frequency and Clinical Significance

In this article, we describe some of the cognitive and system-based sources of detection and interpretation errors in diagnostic radiology and discuss potential approaches to help reduce misdiagnoses. Every radiologist worries about missing a diagnosis or giving a false-positive reading. The retrospective error rate among radiologic examinations is approximately 30%, with real-time errors in daily radiology practice averaging 3-5%. Nearly 75% of all medical malpractice claims against radiologists are related to diagnostic errors. As medical reimbursement trends downward, radiologists attempt to compensate by undertaking additional responsibilities to increase productivity. The increased workload, rising quality expectations, cognitive biases, and poor system factors all contribute to diagnostic errors in radiology. Diagnostic errors are underrecognized and underappreciated in radiology practice. This is due to the inability to obtain reliable national estimates of the impact, the difficulty in evaluating effectiveness of potential interventions, and the poor response to systemwide solutions. Most of our clinical work is executed through type 1 processes to minimize cost, anxiety, and delay; however, type 1 processes are also vulnerable to errors. Instead of trying to completely eliminate cognitive shortcuts that serve us well most of the time, becoming aware of common biases and using metacognitive strategies to mitigate the effects have the potential to create sustainable improvement in diagnostic errors.

Increased Error Rates in Preliminary Reports Issued by Radiology Residents Working More Than 10 Consecutive Hours Overnight

Nephrologists looking for quick answers to diagnostic clinical questions in MEDLINE can use a range of published search strategies or Clinical Query limits to improve the precision of their searches. We aimed to evaluate existing search strategies for finding diagnostic test accuracy studies in nephrology journals. We assessed the accuracy of 14 search strategies for retrieving diagnostic test accuracy studies from three nephrology journals indexed in MEDLINE. Two investigators hand searched the same journals to create a reference set of diagnostic test accuracy studies to compare search strategy results against. We identified 103 diagnostic test accuracy studies, accounting for 2.1% of all studies published. The most specific search strategy was the Narrow Clinical Queries limit (sensitivity: 0.20, 95% CI 0.13-0.29; specificity: 0.99, 95% CI 0.99-0.99). Using the Narrow Clinical Queries limit, a searcher would need to screen three (95% CI 2-6) articles to find one diagnostic study. The most sensitive search strategy was van der Weijden 1999 Extended (sensitivity: 0.95; 95% CI 0.89-0.98; specificity 0.55, 95% CI 0.53-0.56) but required a searcher to screen 24 (95% CI 23-26) articles to find one diagnostic study. Bachmann 2002 was the best balanced search strategy, which was sensitive (0.88, 95% CI 0.81-0.94), but also specific (0.74, 95% CI 0.73-0.75), with a number needed to screen of 15 (95% CI 14-17). Diagnostic studies are infrequently published in nephrology journals. The addition of a strategy for diagnostic studies to a subject search strategy in MEDLINE may reduce the records needed to screen while preserving adequate search sensitivity for routine clinical use.

Bloodstream infections are associated with high mortality, while early and appropriate antibiotic therapy can significantly reduce fatal outcomes. Direct antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) from positive blood cultures has the potential to enable earlier administration of antimicrobials compared with routine AST. The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of three direct AST protocols for Gram-negative bacilli using positive blood culture fluids. AST performed on subcultured isolates with VITEK 2 was defined as protocol 1 and used as the reference method. From positive blood culture bottles signaling Gram-negative bacilli, VITEK 2 (protocol 2), modified disk diffusion (protocol 3) and rapid disk diffusion (protocol 4) recommended by EUCAST. The results of protocols 2, 3 and 4 were compared with protocol 1. The categorical agreements (CA) of protocols 2, 3, and 4 compared with protocol 1 for all strains were 95.9%, 80.7%, and 80.6%, respectively. Very major discrepancy (VMD) rates were 0.5%, 9%, and 1%, major discrepancy (MD) rates were 2.5%, 2.9%, and 6.9%, while minor discrepancy rates were 2.4%, 3.7%, and 3.5%, respectively. VITEK 2 AST performed directly from blood culture bottles demonstrated the highest categorical agreement and the lowest discrepancy rates across all isolates and antibiotics. This approach is practical in laboratories equipped with mass spectrometry for direct identification and offers a cost-effective option for widespread use in clinical microbiology settings.

Endoscopic forceps biopsy (EFB) as the primary histological diagnosis of gastric epithelial neoplasia (GEN) is debated in the era of endoscopic resection (ER). Our aim was to investigate the diagnostic reliability of EFB in patients with GEN compared with ER specimens as the reference standard for the final diagnosis in a large consecutive series. This was a cross-sectional retrospective study at a tertiary-referral center. A total of 354 consecutive patients with 397 GENs underwent ER (endoscopic mucosal resection or endoscopic submucosal dissection). Discrepancy rates between the histological results from EFB and ER specimens were assessed. Discrepancies that could affect patient outcome or clinical care were considered major. The overall histological discrepancy rate between EFB and ER specimens was 44.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 39.7-49.5%) among the enrolled patients. The overall discrepancy rate was significantly higher in the intraepithelial neoplasia (IEN) group than in the carcinoma group (49.8% vs 25.6%, P < 0.001). The major discrepancy rate was also significantly higher in the IEN group than in the carcinoma group (36.6% vs 7.0%, P < 0.001). In subgroup analysis of the IEN group, a major histological discrepancy rate of 33.6% (70/208) for low-grade and 42.7% (44/103) for high-grade IEN was found, respectively. Endoscopic forceps biopsy was insufficient for a definitive diagnosis and therapeutic planning in patients with GEN. ER should be considered as not only definitive treatment but also a procedure for a precise histological diagnosis for lesions initially assessed as GEN by forceps biopsy specimens.

This study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of heart, lung and inferior vena cava (IVC) ultrasonography modalities, alone and combined, for possible added accuracy in diagnosing acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), in a group of patients with the final diagnosis of ADHF based on plasma level of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) as the standard. The present study is a diagnostic accuracy study, which was carried out in the emergency department of Imam Khomeini hospital, affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences, in 2014-2015. All patients over 18years old, who were referred to emergency department with complaint of acute dyspnea were regarded as eligible and no exclusion criteria were considered. All ultrasounds were performed by a trained emergency medicine resident and then saved and classified for each patient, separately, and reviewed by the attending emergency medicine physician. In this study, patients with BNP levels higher than 500pg/ml were considered positive for dyspnea caused by heart failure. A total of 120 patients with an average age of 60.83 ± 16.528years were studied, 64 (53%) of which were male. In total, 47.5% of patients had a BNP level over 500pg/ml. Among patients with positive ultrasound, 94.7% were true positive and among those with a negative ultrasound, 61.4% were true negative. Based on the findings, B-line ≥ 10 has the highest specificity and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 45% has the highest sensitivity. The combination of LVEF and IVC collapsibility index (IVC-CI), LVEF and BLC, IVC-CI and BLC, and IVC-CI and BBPC had a higher specificity rate and combination of LVEF and BBPC and BLC and BBPC had the highest sensitivity. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of all three ultrasounds combined were 31.6%, 98.4%, 94.7% and 61.4%, respectively. In this study, the diagnostic accuracy of double and triple ultrasonography of heart, lung and IVC in the diagnosis of ADHF was very high, among which triple ultrasonography was more preferable.

SummaryBackgroundMost tuberculosis-related deaths in people with HIV could be prevented with earlier diagnosis and treatment. The only commercially available tuberculosis point-of-care test (Alere Determine TB LAM Ag [AlereLAM]) has suboptimal sensitivity, which restricts its use in clinical practice. The novel Fujifilm SILVAMP TB LAM (FujiLAM) assay has been developed to improve the sensitivity of AlereLAM. We assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the FujiLAM assay for the detection of tuberculosis in hospital inpatients with HIV compared with the AlereLAM assay.MethodsFor this diagnostic accuracy study, we assessed biobanked urine samples obtained from the FIND Specimen Bank and the University of Cape Town Biobank, which had been collected from hospital inpatients (aged ≥18 years) with HIV during three independent prospective cohort studies done at two South African hospitals. Urine samples were tested using FujiLAM and AlereLAM assays. The conduct and reporting of each test was done blind to other test results. The primary objective was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of FujiLAM compared with AlereLAM, against microbiological and composite reference standards (including clinical diagnoses).FindingsBetween April 18, 2018, and May 3, 2018, urine samples from 968 hospital inpatients with HIV were evaluated. The prevalence of microbiologically-confirmed tuberculosis was 62% and the median CD4 count was 86 cells per μL. Using the microbiological reference standard, the estimated sensitivity of FujiLAM was 70·4% (95% CI 53·0 to 83·1) compared with 42·3% (31·7 to 51·8) for AlereLAM (difference 28·1%) and the estimated specificity of FujiLAM was 90·8% (86·0 to 94·4) and 95·0% (87·7–98·8) for AlereLAM (difference −4·2%). Against the composite reference standard, the specificity of both assays was higher (95·7% [92·0 to 98·0] for FujiLAM vs 98·2% [95·7 to 99·6] for AlereLAM; difference −2·5%), but the sensitivity of both assays was lower (64·9% [50·1 to 76·7] for FujiLAM vs 38·2% [28·1 to 47·3] for AlereLAM; difference 26·7%).InterpretationIn comparison to AlereLAM, FujiLAM offers superior diagnostic sensitivity, while maintaining specificity, and could transform rapid point-of-care tuberculosis diagnosis for hospital inpatients with HIV. The applicability of FujiLAM for settings of intended use requires prospective assessment.FundingGlobal Health Innovative Technology Fund, UK Department for International Development, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Wellcome Trust, Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation of South Africa, and South African Medical Research Council.

Natriuretic peptide (NP) testing is recommended for patients presenting to primary care with symptoms of chronic heart failure (HF) to prioritise referral for diagnosis. To report NP test performance at European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline referral thresholds. Diagnostic accuracy study using linked primary and secondary care data (2004 to 2018). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of NP testing for HF diagnosis was assessed. In total, 229 580 patients had an NP test and 21 102 (9.2%) were diagnosed with HF within 6 months. The ESC NT-proBNP threshold ≥125 pg/mL had a sensitivity of 94.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 94.2 to 95.0) and specificity of 50.0% (95% CI = 49.7 to 50.3), compared with sensitivity of 81.7% (95% CI = 81.0 to 82.3) and specificity of 80.3% (95% CI = 80.0 to 80.5) for the NICE NT-proBNP ≥400 pg/mL threshold. PPVs for an NT-proBNP test were 16.4% (95% CI = 16.1 to 16.6) and 30.0% (95% CI = 29.6 to 30.5) for ESC and NICE thresholds, respectively. For both guidelines, nearly all patients with an NT-proBNP level below the threshold did not have HF (NPV: ESC 98.9%, 95% CI = 98.8 to 99.0 and NICE 97.7%, 95% CI = 97.6 to 97.8). At the higher NICE chronic HF guideline NP thresholds, one in five cases are initially missed in primary care but the lower ESC thresholds require more diagnostic assessments. NP is a reliable 'rule-out' test at both cut-points. The optimal NP threshold will depend on the priorities and capacity of the healthcare system.

Stunting affects 149 million children worldwide and is a form of chronic malnutrition defined by low height-for-age. Surveys and intervention programmes depend on effective assessment and identification of affected individuals. Gold standard assessment is based on height-for-age Z-score (HAZ): HAZ <-2 defines stunting; HAZ <-3 defines severe stunting. However, a major problem for field-based programmes is that Z-scores can be time-intensive and challenging to calculate. We thus developed a novel wallchart that we have coined 'MEIRU wallchart' to easily and accurately identify stunted children and adolescents. Our study aim was to evaluate its performance and acceptability against other methods used in current clinical/field practice. We undertook a non-interventional diagnostic accuracy study in Malawi. We recruited 244 participants aged 8-19 years and determined each individual's stunting status using, in varying order: the MEIRU wallchart, traditional lookup tables, and traditional growth charts. All were compared against 'gold standard' HAZ, calculated using AnthroPlus WHO software. Local community healthcare workers performed all the assessments. The wallchart method was strongly preferred by both participants and staff. It had an overall accuracy of 95.5%(kappa = 0.91) and was faster than lookup tables by an average of 62.5%(41.4sec; p<0.001) per measurement. Lookup tables and growth charts had overall agreements of 59.4%(kappa = 0.36) and 61.9%(kappa = 0.31) respectively. At the HAZ-2 cut-off, the wallchart had a sensitivity of 97.6%(95%CI: 91.5-99.7) and specificity of 96.3%(95%CI: 92.1-98.6). We conclude that the MEIRU wallchart performs well and is acceptable for screening and identification of stunted children/adolescents by community-level health workers. It fulfils key criteria that justify a role in future screening programmes: easy to perform and interpret; acceptable; accurate; sensitive and specific. Potential future uses include: conducting rapid stunting prevalence surveys; identifying affected individuals for interventions. Current field methods, lookup tables and growth charts performed poorly and should be used with caution.

Introduction:There is no consensus on the performance of decision rules in predicting the prognosis of trauma patients. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the value of Glasgow coma scale (GCS) and physiologic scoring systems in predicting mortality and poor outcome of trauma patients.Methods:This diagnostic accuracy study was conducted on multiple trauma patients admitted to the intensive care units of two hospitals in Tehran, Iran, from 21 November 2020 to 22 May 2021. The patients' demographic characteristics, length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), the vital signs, and the GCS on admission were recorded. Finally, the mortality, disability, and complete recovery of patients at the time of discharge were evaluated and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to compare the performance of physiologic scoring systems with GCS.Results:200 trauma patients with the mean age of 43.53±19.84 years were evaluated (74% male). The area under the ROC curve for New Trauma Score (NTS), Revised Trauma Score (RTS), Worthing Physiological Scoring System (WPSS), Rapid Acute Physiology Score (RAPS), Rapid Emergency Medicine Score (REMS), Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS), National Early Warning Score (NEWS), Glasgow Coma Scale, Age, and Systolic Blood Pressure score (GAPS) ,Glasgow coma scale (GCS) in prediction of mortality were 0.95, 0.95, 0.83, 0.89, 0.91, 0.84, 0.77, 0.97, and 0.98 respectively. The performance of GCS was statistically superior to RTS (P=0.005), WPSS (P=0.0001), RAPS (P=0.0002), REMS (P=0.002), MEWS (P<0.0001), and NEWS (P<0.0001). However, the performance of GCS, NTS (P=0.146), and GAPS (P=0.513) were not significantly different. Also, in prediction of poor outcomes, the AUC of GCS (0.98) was significantly higher than RTS (0.95), RAPS (0.85), REMS (0.85), MEWS (0.84), NEWS (0.77), and WPSS (0.75).Conclusion:The GCS score seems to be a better instrument to predict mortality and poor outcome in trauma patients compared to other tools due to its high accuracy, wide application, and easy calculation.

To evaluate diagnostic accuracy of urinary immune biomarkers (IBM) for late-onset sepsis (LOS) in very preterm infants. This multicenter, prospective diagnostic accuracy study, included preterm infants<32weeks of gestation and birth weight<1,500 g, needing evaluation for suspected LOS. Urine samples obtained concurrent to blood culture and sepsis screen were evaluated for interleukin-8 (IL-8) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) levels using enzyme immunoassay. Positive blood and/or CSF culture served as reference standards. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate performance of urinary IBM for detection of LOS. During September 2021-September 2023, we evaluated 136 preterm, very low birth weight infants (mean gestational age: 28.2weeks, mean birth weight: 933 g) for sepsis after 72 h of postnatal age and prior to 37weeks postmenstrual age. Twenty four infants had culture-positive sepsis. Median IL-8 and MCP-1 levels in neonates with LOS were 86.5 pg/mL and 230.2 pg/mL and those in non-infected neonates were 66.5 pg/mL and 212.1 pg/mL. Urinary IL-8 had sensitivity and specificity of 42 and 51 % [AUC: 0.46 (0.35-0.57)] and urinary MCP-1 had sensitivity and specificity of 46 and 53 % [AUC: 0.49 (0.38-0.60)] for detection of LOS. Urinary IL-8 and MCP-1 had low sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of LOS in very preterm infants. These findings underscore the need to establish reference ranges for urinary IBM in preterm neonates.

Background and Objectives: Given the importance and prevalence of trauma patients in the emergency department and the questioning of urinalysis value in predicting intra-abdominal injury, this study was conducted to examine the accuracy of various types of this test. Methods: This diagnostic accuracy study was conducted on adult patients with abdominal trauma. Data gathering were performed retrospectively until sample size completion using a preprepared checklist. Required data, including demographic characteristics, diseases confounding urinalysis, trauma mechanism, important associated injuries, vital signs, etc., were recorded. Accuracy of urinalysis (including macroscopic, microscopic and dipstick) results was compared with findings of patients' enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan findings that was considered as the gold standard, reported by a radiologist. Results: Totally, 152 multiple trauma patients with the mean age of 37.9 ± 17.7 years were enrolled (90.8% males), of whom 66 (43.42%) patients had hematuria and the CT scan was abnormal in 30 (19.73%) cases. There was a significant correlation between gross hematuria and abnormal CT scan (P 0.05). Based on the findings, the highest sensitivity was for dipstick and microscopic equally and highest specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive and negative likelihood ratios, NLR and accuracy were for the gross test. Conclusions: Microscopic hematuria and dipstick had no significant correlation with abnormal CT scan findings and cannot predict the intra-abdominal injuries in multiple trauma patients. But, macroscopic hematuria could be valuable in this regard.

An individual diagnostic accuracy study rarely provides enough information to make conclusive recommendations about the accuracy of a diagnostic test; particularly when the study is small. Meta-analysis methods provide a way of combining information from multiple studies, reducing uncertainty in the result and hopefully providing substantial evidence to underpin reliable clinical decision-making. Very few investigators consider any sample size calculations when designing a new diagnostic accuracy study. However, it is important to consider the number of subjects in a new study in order to achieve a precise measure of accuracy. Sutton et al. have suggested previously that when designing a new therapeutic trial, it could be more beneficial to consider the power of the updated meta-analysis including the new trial rather than of the new trial itself. The methodology involves simulating new studies for a range of sample sizes and estimating the power of the updated meta-analysis with each new study added. Plotting the power values against the range of sample sizes allows the clinician to make an informed decision about the sample size of a new trial. This paper extends this approach from the trial setting and applies it to diagnostic accuracy studies. Several meta-analytic models are considered including bivariate random effects meta-analysis that models the correlation between sensitivity and specificity. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of restricted diffusion of the optic nerves in patients with acute optic neuritis (ON). Materials and Methods: The present study was a diagnostic accuracy study, including all acute ON patients, admitted to Ramathibodi Hospital in Thailand, between January 2014 and December 2018 (ID 075739). Patients were divided into acute ON and non-optic neuritis condition (non-ON) groups. The acute ON group was divided further into neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder-associated optic neuritis (NMOSD-ON) group and other types of ON (other-ON) group. Patients’ clinical information and MRI scans were reviewed retrospectively. Restricted diffusion of the optic nerves was present if hyperintense signals were observed on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and hypointense signals were observed on the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map. Results: A total of 102 patients were included in the present study (141 optic nerves). Of all patients, 78 had acute ON (76.5%), and 24 had non-ON (23.5%). Of all optic nerves, there were 95 optic nerves in the acute ON group (67.4%) and 46 in the non-ON group (32.6%). Of 95 optic nerves in the acute ON group, there were 52 optic nerves in the NMOSD-ON group (54.7%) and 43 in the other-ON group (45.3%). Restricted diffusion of the optic nerves demonstrated a sensitivity of 77.9%, specificity of 95.7%, positive predictive value of 97.4%, and negative predictive value of 67.7% in identifying acute ON. It had a sensitivity of 86.5%, specificity of 32.6%, positive predictive value of 60.8%, and negative predictive value of 66.7% in differentiating NMOSD-ON from other-ON. Conclusion: The diffusion MRI can be a marker of acute ON. The test is most useful for ruling in acute ON when restricted diffusion is positive. However, further investigations might be required in negative tests. Restricted diffusion is positive in several types of ON. It is difficult to differentiate NMOSD-ON from other ON types using diffusion MRI alone. Keywords: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders, Optic neuritis, Diffusion-weighted imaging, Apparent diffusion coefficient, Restricted diffusion