Volume 10, Number 1—January 2004
Research
Evaluating Detection and Diagnostic Decision Support Systems for Bioterrorism Response
Dena M. Bravata*†
, Vandana Sundaram*†‡, Kathryn M. McDonald*†, Wendy M. Smith*†, Herbert Szeto*†§, Mark D. Schleinitz¶#, and Douglas K. Owens*†‡
, Vandana Sundaram*†‡, Kathryn M. McDonald*†, Wendy M. Smith*†, Herbert Szeto*†§, Mark D. Schleinitz¶#, and Douglas K. Owens*†‡Table 1
Summary of evaluation data for detection systems and diagnostic decision support systems for a bioterrorism response
| Evaluation criteria | Detection systems evaluated % (yes/total) | Diagnostic decision support systems evaluated % (yes/total) |
|---|---|---|
| Is the timeliness of diagnostic information described? | 36 (20/55) | 48 (11/23) |
| Are diagnostic sensitivity and specificity described? | 1.8 (1/55) | 13 (3/23) |
| Is the reference standard against which the system was compared described? | 7 (4/55) | 39 (9/23) |
| Are the system’s security measures described? | 0 | 0 |
| Is the evaluation of the system over a range of clinical situations or patient populations described? | 0 | 0 |
| Is the portability of the system described? | 54 (15/28) | NAa |
| Is the system’s ability to run more than one sample at a time described? | 10 (4/41) | NA |
| Is the system’s ability to detect more than one bioterrorism agent described? | 32 (12/37) | NA |
| Is the system’s ability to detect either/both toxins and organisms described? | 5 (2/37) | NA |
| Is the inclusion of all bioterrorism agents and associated illnesses in the system’s knowledge base described? | NA | 26 (5/19) |
| Is the flexibility to update the probability of bioterrorism-related illness as the epidemic progresses described? | NA | 0 |
| Is the method of reasoning used by inference engine described? | NA | 26 (5/19) |
| Is the use of standard vocabulary described? | NA | 0 |
aNA; not applicable.
