Effect of human variability on independent double reading in screening mammography. Acad Radiol 1996 Nov;3(11):891-7
Date
11/01/1996Pubmed ID
8959178DOI
10.1016/s1076-6332(96)80296-0Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0030280661 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 84 CitationsAbstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the range of gains and losses that radiologists might experience from independent double reading in screening mammography.
METHODS: From a national random sample of radiologists, the authors formed 131 pairs. For each radiologist, the authors analyzed the increase relative to his or her individual true-positive rate (TPR) or false-positive rate (FPR), number of additional cancers detected, and change to negative biopsy rate that would result from independent double reading after pairing.
RESULTS: The average radiologist can expect an 8%-14% gain in TPR and a 4%-10% increase in FPR with pairing. For some radiologists, double reading increased the TPR with a small concomitant increase in FPR. Other radiologists, however, realized small gains in TPR with large increases in FPR. Adding the reading from a more experienced radiologist did not necessarily improve the TPR of a radiologist with less experience.
CONCLUSION: Radiologists can form complementary and noncomplementary pairs for double reading. Use of this procedure must be decided on an individual basis.
Author List
Beam CA, Sullivan DC, Layde PMAuthor
Peter M. Layde MS, MD Emeritus Professor in the Emergency Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Breast NeoplasmsFalse Negative Reactions
False Positive Reactions
Female
Humans
Mammography
Mass Screening
Observer Variation
