Table 3.
Terminology for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies according to STARD 1511
| STARD 15 term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Medical test | Any method for collecting additional information about the current health status of a patient |
| Index test | The test under evaluation (e.g., an imaging method) |
| Target condition | The disease or condition that the index test is expected to detect |
| Reference standard | The best available method/condition for establishing the presence or absence of the target condition; a “gold standard” would be an error-free reference standard |
| Intended use of the test | Whether the index test is used for diagnosis, screening, staging, monitoring, surveillance, prediction, prognosis or other reasons |
| Role of the test | The position of the index test relative to other tests for the same condition (e.g., triage, replacement, add-on, new test) |