Pancreas-specific lipase is a form of lipase produced only in the pancreas. It is highly specific to the pancreas, and blood values increase only when there is pancreatic inflammation. By comparison, serum lipase can come from tissues other than the pancreas, and high blood values can occur with conditions other than pancreatitis. How is pancreas-specific lipase measured? What sample is required? Pancreas-specific lipase is measured with a test called Canine Pancreatic Lipase Immunoreactivity, known simply as cPLI. The test requires only a small blood sample. A fasting sample is preferred, but it is not essential for the accuracy of the test. Does the sample have to be sent away to a diagnostic laboratory? There is a version of the cPLI test that can be used in-clinic (SNAP cPLÂ© IDEXX).
The test-retest method is just one of the ways that can be used to determine the reliability of a measurement. Other techniques that can be used include inter-rater reliability, internal consistency, and parallel-forms reliability.
In addition to sensitivity and specificity, the performance of a binary classification test can be measured with positive predictive value (PPV), also known as precision, and negative predictive value (NPV).