Bias in Laboratory Medicine: The Dark Side of the Moon

Ann Lab Med. 2024 Jan 1;44(1):6-20. doi: 10.3343/alm.2024.44.1.6. Epub 2023 Sep 4.ABSTRACTPhysicians increasingly use laboratory-produced information for disease diagnosis, patient monitoring, treatment planning, and evaluations of treatment effectiveness. Bias is the systematic deviation of laboratory test results from the actual value, which can cause misdiagnosis or misestimation of disease prognosis and increase healthcare costs. Properly estimating and treating bias can help to reduce laboratory errors, improve patient safety, and considerably reduce healthcare costs. A bias that is statistically and medically significant should be eliminated or corrected. In this review, the theoretical aspects of bias based on metrological, statistical, laboratory, and biological variation principles are discussed. These principles are then applied to laboratory and diagnostic medicine for practical use from clinical perspectives.PMID:37665281 | PMC:PMC10485854 | DOI:10.3343/alm.2024.44.1.6
Source: Annals of Laboratory Medicine - Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Source Type: research