Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T04:53:18.878Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) Curves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2016

Mary D. Nettleman*
Affiliation:
Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa

Abstract

The goal of diagnostic testing is to identify patients with a particular disease. Often, it is just as important that the test not mistakenly identify healthy persons as having disease. For example, a new test for the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) might identify 99.99% of all patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, if the test is positive in large numbers of persons who are not infected, its usefulness may be overshadowed by the harm caused by false positive results.

Type
Special Sections
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1988 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Nettleman, MD: Decision analysis: A tool for infection control: Infect Control Epidemiol 1988; 9:8891.10.1086/645792Google Scholar
2. Lusted, LB: General problems in medical decision making with comments on ROC analysis. Semin Nucl Med 1978: 4:299306.10.1016/S0001-2998(78)80015-4Google Scholar
3. Goodenough, DJ, Rossmann, K, Lusted, LB: Radiographic applications of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Radiology 1974; 110:8994.10.1148/110.1.89Google Scholar
4. Weinstein, MC, Fineberg, HV: Clinial Decision Analysis. Philadelphia, WB Saunders CO. 1980, pp 114121.Google Scholar
5. McClish, DK: Comparing the areas under more than two independent ROC curves. Med Decis Making 1987; 7:149155.10.1177/0272989X8700700305Google Scholar
6. Herman, AA, Irwig, LM, Groeneveld, HT: Evaluating obstetric risk scores by receiver operating characteristic curves. Am J Epidemiol 1988: 127:831–812.10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114866Google Scholar
7. Goodwin, JW, Dunne, JT, Thomas, BW: Antepartum identification ol the fetus at risk. Can Med Assoc J 1909: 101:5767.Google Scholar
8. Steinbach, WR, Richter, K: Multiple classfication and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Med Decis Making 1987; 7:234237.10.1177/0272989X8700700405Google Scholar