Multiple test analyzer (MTA): a microcomputer program for determining preferred strategies with two diagnostic tests.

Abstract

There are ten distinct management strategies in clinical situations that involve two diagnostic tests with dichotomous outcomes. The authors describe a microcomputer program, based on a previously described model, that can be used to identify test and test-treatment thresholds and to compute preferred strategies. The program provides tables and graphs of the results, which can be viewed or printed, and there is an optimization routine that facilitates comprehensive analysis. It can be used by decision-analytic researchers and policy analysts, medical educators who teach decision analysis, and clinicians who use decision analysis in their practices.