List of questionable diagnostic tests

This is a list of medical diagnostic tests that are considered questionable, unverified or refuted.^[1]

• Applied kinesiology,^[2] including the Bi-Digital O Ring Test^[3]
• Barnes Basal Temperature Test
• Breast thermography^[4]
• Electro Physiological Feedback Xrroid (EPFX)^[5]
• Electrodermal diagnostic devices^[6][7] (e.g. Vega machines, E-meters)
• Genetic tests for "reward deficiency syndrome"^[8]
• Hair analysis^[9][10]
• IgG antibody testing for food intolerances and food allergies^[7][11]
• Live blood analysis^[12]
• Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
• Pendulum dowsing
• Proove Opioid Risk test (POR)
• Provoked urine testing for heavy metal toxicity^[13]
• Radionics
• SPECT scans for diagnosing psychological disorders
• Unvalidated Lyme disease testing, often used to diagnose so-called chronic Lyme disease^[14]
• Unvalidated mycotoxin tests^[15]

See also

• List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
• Quackery
• List of diagnoses characterized as pseudoscience

References

1. Barrett, Stephen (6 May 2018). "Dubious diagnostic tests". QuackWatch. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
2. Bernstein IL, Li JT, Bernstein DI, Hamilton R, Spector SL, Tan R, et al. (2008). "Allergy diagnostic testing: an updated practice parameter". Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 100 (3 Suppl 3): S1-148. doi:10.1016/S1081-1206(10)60305-5. PMID 18431959.
3. Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal of New Zealand findings in re Richard Gorringe and the PMRT/Bi-Digital O-Ring Test
4. "ASA Adjudication on Medical Thermal Imaging Ltd". Advertising Standards Authority. 2013-01-09. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
5. Barrett, Stephen (12 July 2009). "Some Notes on the Quantum Xrroid (QXCI) and William C. Nelson". Quackwatch. Retrieved 2007-02-12.
6. Barrett, Stephen (14 February 2018). "Quack "Electrodiagnostic" Devices". Quackwatch. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
7. "Alternative Food Allergy Tests to Avoid". Kids with Food Allergies. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
8. Barrett, Stephen; Hall, Harriet (24 November 2008). "Dubious Genetic Testing". Retrieved 5 July 2018.
9. Seidel, S. (2001). "Assessment of Commercial Laboratories Performing Hair Mineral Analysis". JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 285 (1): 67–72. doi:10.1001/jama.285.1.67. PMID 11150111.
10. "Hair Analysis: What Can Your Hair Tell About You?".
11. "The Myth of IgG Food Panel Testing". American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
12. (PDF). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. July 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
13. Barrett, Stephen (10 June 2017). "How the "Urine Toxic Metals" Test Is Used to Defraud Patients". QuackWatch. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
14. Daley, Beth (17 June 2014). "Can you trust Lyme Disease tests?". WGBH. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
15. Kawamoto, M; Page, E (20 February 2015). "Notes from the field: Use of unvalidated urine mycotoxin tests for the clinical diagnosis of illness--United States, 2014". MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 64 (6): 157–8. PMC 4584707. PMID 25695323.