BA-plotteR - A web tool for generating Bland-Altman plots and constructing limits of agreement

Abstract

Investigators use Bland-Altman plot (Limits of Agreement plot) to compare two methods measuring the same continuous variable to determine interchangeability or agreement of the methods. The method has evolved to deal with heteroscedastic data and fixed or proportional biases (or both). Although an ordinary Bland-Altman plot can be readily made with various software applications, there is no free, open-source application that is dedicated to producing Bland-Altman plots and constructing limits of agreement for data that do not meet the assumptions of a simple comparison. To fill this gap, we created BA-plotteR, a web-based, open-source, freeware tool created in Shiny/R that is dedicated to creating Bland-Altman plots. We validated the tool using 20 datasets with various data distributions by comparing the output from the tool against manually derived results. The webtool handles data that requires a more complex analysis than is commonly available through commercial statistical programs. Moreover, the automated analysis of the data distribution will guide users and help them to correctly plot and analyse their data. The tool agreed perfectly with manually constructed plots. The Bland-Altman graphing tool provides clinical researchers with a tool that correctly analyzes and graphs studies involved in method comparisons. The tool can be accessed here: https://huygens.science.uva.nl/BA-plotteR.

Keywords: Diagnostic accuracy; Method comparison; R-software.