Gold standard (test)

The meaning of "gold standard" may differ between practical medicine and the statistical ideal. With some medical conditions, only an autopsy can guarantee diagnostic certainty. In these cases, the gold standard test is the best test that keeps the patient alive, and even gold standard tests can require follow-up to confirm or refute the diagnosis. The term 'gold standard' in its current sense in medical research was coined by Rudd in 1979, in reference to the monetary gold standard. "Gold standard" can refer to popular clinical endpoints by which scientific evidence is evaluated. For example, in resuscitation research, the "gold standard" test of a medication or procedure is whether or not it leads to an increase in the number of neurologically intact survivors that walk out of the hospital. Other types of medical research might regard a significant decrease in 30-day mortality as the gold standard. The AMA Style Guide has preferred the phrase criterion standard instead of "gold standard."