Risk indices

Abstract

Risk indices combine biological and physico-chemical knowledge with epidemiological data and calculate a single number from an array of measured or observed quantities. This single number can be used to classify the health status of the examined person with respect to the investigated disease on a standardized scale. This chapter discusses the issue of risk indices in urolithiasis research and treatment. On the example of the most frequent stone type, calcium oxalate, several approaches with different complexity are introduced. On the example of a set of urinalyses of stone formers and controls, discriminative power and predictive value of the presented risk indices are determined using receiver operating characteristics for each index. The advantages and disadvantages of risk indices in urolithiasis treatment and clinical routine are discussed. © 2011 Springer-Verlag London Limited.