Cutoffs and supplemental oxygen

Consider a guideline that administers home supplemental O2 if O2 sat is less than 88%.

Putting this in the language of decision analysis, this treatment policy is \pi(Supp O2=1|o2sat) = I(o2sat<88\%).

Is \pi=I(o2sat<88\%) really optimal for someone who has O2 sat 88.1%?

Cutoffs are often criticized from a statistical perspective, but there is less work on expressing them in the language of decision analysis and investigating their impact on clinical care in that way.

Leave a comment