Relying on allergy skin test results

We appreciate the comments related to our recent publication, “Reliability of allergy skin testing”. The author writes, “Reliability (precision, repeatability) and validity (accuracy) are two completely different methodological issues”. We agree that other titles such as, “Accuracy of allergy skin testing” may have fit more pedantic epidemiological definitions. However, this would not have emphasized the clinical concerns any greater. We had chosen to use the lay term for reliability as it appears in the Oxford English dictionary where it is defined as, “the degree to which the result of a measurement, calculation, or specification can be d epended on to be accurate1.”
Source: Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research