Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in diagnostic accuracy studies: A guide to interpreting the area under the curve value

This review article provides a concise guide to interpreting receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the curve (AUC) values in diagnostic accuracy studies. ROC analysis is a powerful tool for assessing the diagnostic performance of index tests, which are tests that are used to...

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Main Authors: Şeref Kerem Çorbacıoğlu, Gökhan Aksel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2023-10-01
Series:Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/tjem.tjem_182_23
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author Şeref Kerem Çorbacıoğlu
Gökhan Aksel
author_facet Şeref Kerem Çorbacıoğlu
Gökhan Aksel
author_sort Şeref Kerem Çorbacıoğlu
collection DOAJ
description This review article provides a concise guide to interpreting receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the curve (AUC) values in diagnostic accuracy studies. ROC analysis is a powerful tool for assessing the diagnostic performance of index tests, which are tests that are used to diagnose a disease or condition. The AUC value is a summary metric of the ROC curve that reflects the test’s ability to distinguish between diseased and nondiseased individuals. AUC values range from 0.5 to 1.0, with a value of 0.5 indicating that the test is no better than chance at distinguishing between diseased and nondiseased individuals. A value of 1.0 indicates perfect discrimination. AUC values above 0.80 are generally consideredclinically useful, while values below 0.80 are considered of limited clinical utility. When interpreting AUC values, it is important to consider the 95% confidence interval. The confidence interval reflects the uncertainty around the AUC value. A narrow confidence interval indicates that the AUC value is likely accurate, while a wide confidence interval indicates that the AUC value is less reliable. ROC analysis can also be used to identify the optimal cutoff value for an index test. The optimal cutoff value is the value that maximizes the test’s sensitivity and specificity. The Youden index can be used to identify the optimal cutoff value. This review article provides a concise guide to interpreting ROC curves and AUC values in diagnostic accuracy studies. By understanding these metrics, clinicians can make informed decisions about the use of index tests in clinical practice.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2452-2473
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publishDate 2023-10-01
publisher Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
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series Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine
spelling doaj-art-8c4465cd998d41e8a83a656961341dda2025-02-09T09:04:09ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsTurkish Journal of Emergency Medicine2452-24732023-10-0123419519810.4103/tjem.tjem_182_23Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in diagnostic accuracy studies: A guide to interpreting the area under the curve valueŞeref Kerem ÇorbacıoğluGökhan AkselThis review article provides a concise guide to interpreting receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the curve (AUC) values in diagnostic accuracy studies. ROC analysis is a powerful tool for assessing the diagnostic performance of index tests, which are tests that are used to diagnose a disease or condition. The AUC value is a summary metric of the ROC curve that reflects the test’s ability to distinguish between diseased and nondiseased individuals. AUC values range from 0.5 to 1.0, with a value of 0.5 indicating that the test is no better than chance at distinguishing between diseased and nondiseased individuals. A value of 1.0 indicates perfect discrimination. AUC values above 0.80 are generally consideredclinically useful, while values below 0.80 are considered of limited clinical utility. When interpreting AUC values, it is important to consider the 95% confidence interval. The confidence interval reflects the uncertainty around the AUC value. A narrow confidence interval indicates that the AUC value is likely accurate, while a wide confidence interval indicates that the AUC value is less reliable. ROC analysis can also be used to identify the optimal cutoff value for an index test. The optimal cutoff value is the value that maximizes the test’s sensitivity and specificity. The Youden index can be used to identify the optimal cutoff value. This review article provides a concise guide to interpreting ROC curves and AUC values in diagnostic accuracy studies. By understanding these metrics, clinicians can make informed decisions about the use of index tests in clinical practice.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/tjem.tjem_182_23area under the curvediagnostic studyreceiver operating characteristic analysisreceiver operating characteristic curve
spellingShingle Şeref Kerem Çorbacıoğlu
Gökhan Aksel
Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in diagnostic accuracy studies: A guide to interpreting the area under the curve value
Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine
area under the curve
diagnostic study
receiver operating characteristic analysis
receiver operating characteristic curve
title Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in diagnostic accuracy studies: A guide to interpreting the area under the curve value
title_full Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in diagnostic accuracy studies: A guide to interpreting the area under the curve value
title_fullStr Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in diagnostic accuracy studies: A guide to interpreting the area under the curve value
title_full_unstemmed Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in diagnostic accuracy studies: A guide to interpreting the area under the curve value
title_short Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in diagnostic accuracy studies: A guide to interpreting the area under the curve value
title_sort receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in diagnostic accuracy studies a guide to interpreting the area under the curve value
topic area under the curve
diagnostic study
receiver operating characteristic analysis
receiver operating characteristic curve
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/tjem.tjem_182_23
work_keys_str_mv AT serefkeremcorbacıoglu receiveroperatingcharacteristiccurveanalysisindiagnosticaccuracystudiesaguidetointerpretingtheareaunderthecurvevalue
AT gokhanaksel receiveroperatingcharacteristiccurveanalysisindiagnosticaccuracystudiesaguidetointerpretingtheareaunderthecurvevalue