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2033

CHAPTER 105
Area Under Curve
Introduction
Suppose you are studying a drug that influences plasma concentration. A popular method of looking
at the absorption and elimination properties of the drug is to follow the plasma concentration across
time. When the concentration values are plotted on the vertical axis, the time values are plotted on
the horizontal axis, and the points are joined with a line, a curve results. One method of making
comparisons among different types of drugs and different doses of the same drug is to compute the
area under the curve (AUC).
AUC is computed by the trapezoidal rule as follows:
( )( ) AUC T T C C B
i i i i
i
n
= +
+ +
=

1
2
2
1 1
1
1
where T
i
is the i
th
time value, C
i
is the i
th
concentration value, n is the number of time values, and B
is the baseline value. The area between the baseline and the curve is computed by this formula.
The AUC should be calculated from zero to a time at which the concentration has returned to its
regular levels. Also, when making comparisons, you should insure that all AUCs are computed for
the same time intervals.
Data Structure
Two different data structures may be used to store data for analysis by this procedure. In the first
format, the X (time) values are stored in one variable and the Y (concentration) values are stored in
other variables, one variable per group. The AUC dataset is in this format.
In the other format, the X values are stored in one variable, group values are stored in a second
variable, and the measurements are stored in a third variable. The AUC dataset was reorganized to
be in this format in the AUC1 dataset.
Format Type 1 - AUC Data
Time P1 P2 P3
0 5 4 6
1 15 14 17
2 20 16 22
3 21 18 23
4 21 17 25
5 19 15 22
10 15 12 18
50 6 3 7
Format Type 2 - AUC1 Data
Time Subject Concentration
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0 P1 5
1 P1 15
2 P1 20
3 P1 21
4 P1 21
5 P1 19
10 P1 15
50 P1 6
0 P2 4
1 P2 14
2 P2 16
3 P2 18
4 P2 17
5 P2 15
10 P2 12
50 P2 3
0 P3 6
1 P3 17
2 P3 22
3 P3 23
4 P3 25
5 P3 22
10 P3 18
50 P3 7
Procedure Options
This section describes the options available in this procedure.
Variables Tab
Specify the variables on which to run the analysis.
Y Variables
Specify one or more vertical (Y) variables. These variables contain the measurements.
When multiple Y variables are specified, a separate AUC calculation is made for each variable.
When only one Y variable is given, you must also specify a Break Variable. You cannot specify
both a break variable and multiple Y variables.
X Variable
This option specifies the horizontal (X) variable. Usually, X represents the time at which the
measurement was made.
Break Variable
Specify an optional break variable used to separate the X and Y variables into groups. A separate
AUC calculation is made for each unique value of this variable. When this variable is specified, only
one Y variable may be used.
Baseline
This option specifies a baseline value for the area under the curve. Usually, this value is zero.
The area between a horizontal line at this value and the data points is calculated. Points below this
amount count as negative area (they are subtracted). Points above this value are added. The
trapezoidal formula is used to calculate the area.
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Filter Active
This option indicates whether the currently defined filter (if any) should be used when running this
procedure.
Reports Tab
Variable Names
This option lets you select whether to display only variable names, variable labels, or both.
Value Labels
This option lets you select whether to display only values, value labels, or both. Use this option if
you want the table to automatically attach labels to the values (like 1=Yes, 2=No, etc.). See the
section on specifying Value Labels elsewhere in this manual.
Precision
Specify the precision of numbers in the report. Single precision will display seven-place accuracy,
whereas the double precision will display thirteen-place accuracy.
AUC Report, Data Report, and Data Plot
These options specify whether the corresponding report or plot is displayed.
Data Plot Tab
These options specify the data plot.
Plot Style File
Designate a scatter plot style file. This file sets all scatter plot options that are not set directly on this
panel. Unless you choose otherwise, the default style file (Default) is used. These files are created
in the Scatter Plot procedure.
Plot Title
This is the text of the title. Press the button on the right of the field to specify the font of the text.
Label (Y and X)
This is the text of the label. The characters {Y} are replaced by the name of the Y variable and the
characters {X} are replaced by the name of the X variable. Press the button on the right of the field
to specify the font of the text.
Minimum and Maximum (Y and X)
These options specify the minimum and maximum values to be displayed on the two axes. If left
blank, these values are calculated from the data.
Tick Marks - Ref. Numbers (Y and X)
Pressing these buttons brings up a window that sets the font, rotation, and number of decimal
places displayed in the reference numbers along the vertical and horizontal axes.
Major Ticks - Minor Ticks (Y and X)
These options set the number of major and minor tick marks displayed on each axis.
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Grid Lines (Y and X)
These check boxes indicate whether the grid lines should be displayed.
Show Legend
Specifies whether to display the legend.
Legend Text
Specifies legend label. The characters {G} are replaced by the name of the break variable.
Symbols Tab
These options specify the attributes of the symbols used for each appraiser in the plots.
Symbol 1 - 15
These options specify the symbols used in the plot of each appraiser. The first symbol is used by
the first appraiser, the second symbol by the second appraiser, and so on. These symbols are
provided to allow the various appraisers to be easily identified, even on black and white printers.
Clicking on a symbol box (or the small button to the right of the symbol box) will bring up a
window that allows the color, width, and pattern of the line to be changed.
Template Tab
The options on this panel allow various sets of options to be loaded (File menu: Load Template) or
stored (File menu: Save Template). A template file contains all the settings for this procedure.
File Name
Designate the name of the template file either to be loaded or stored.
Template Files
A list of previously stored template files for this procedure.
Template Ids
A list of the Template Ids of the corresponding files. This id value is loaded in the box at the
bottom of the panel.
Tutorial
This section presents a tutorial of calculating the AUC for three individuals labeled P1, P2, and P3.
The data are contained on the AUC database.
To run this example, take the following steps. Note that the Example1 template will also run this
example once the AUC database has been loaded. The corresponding setup for the AUC1 dataset is
given as the Example2 template.
1 Open the AUC dataset.
From the File menu of the NCSS Data window, select Open.
Select the Data subdirectory of the NCSS97 directory.
Click on the file AUC.S0.
Click Open.
2 Open the Area Under Curve window.
On the menus, select Analysis, then Other, then Area Under Curve. The Area Under
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Curve procedure will be displayed.
On the menus, select File, then New Template. This will fill the procedure with the default
template.
3 Specify the variables.
On the Area Under Curve window, select the Variables tab.
Double-click in the Y Variables text box. This will bring up the variable selection window.
Select variables P1, P2, P3 from the list of variables and then click Ok. P1-P3 will
appear in this box.
Double-click in the X Variable text box. This will bring up the variable selection window.
Select Time and then click Ok. Time will appear in this box.
4 Specify the report.
On the Area Under Curve window, select the Reports tab.
Check the Data Report. The other reports should be checked already.
5 Run the procedure.
From the Run menu, select Run Procedure. Alternatively, just click the Run button (the
left-most button on the button bar at the top).
Area Section
Area Section
Area Under Y Time at Time Time
Y Variables Curve Max Max of Y Min Max Count
P1 594 21 3 0 10 8
P2 442 18 3 0 10 8
P3 701 25 4 0 10 8
This report shows the area under curve as well as supporting information.
Y Variables
This gives the value of the Y variable (if multiple Y variables were specified) or the value of the
break variable (if a break variable was specified).
Area Under Curve
The is the area under the curve calculated in the interval between Time Min and Time Max. It is
calculated using the trapezoidal formula presented earlier.
Y Max
This is the maximum value of the vertical (concentration) variable. This is an alternative measure of
absorption that is sometimes used.
Time at Max of Y
This is the value of the time (X) variable at which the maximum Y value (Y Max) was found.
Time Min and Max
These give the horizontal range over which the area was calculated. These values are given so that
you can compare them. Under normal circumstances, these values should be equal across groups.
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Count
This is the number of X values that were found on the database for this group. This report helps
you find missing values.
Data Section
Data Section
Y Variables Time Y
P1 0 5
P1 1 15
P1 2 20
P1 3 21
P1 4 21
P1 5 19
P1 10 15
P1 50 6
P2 0 4
P2 1 14
P2 2 16
P2 3 18
P2 4 17
P2 5 15
P2 10 12
P2 50 3
P3 0 6
P3 1 17
P3 2 22
P3 3 23
P3 4 25
P3 5 22
P3 10 18
P3 50 7
This report displays the data that are plotted. Note that if you have several measurements at the
same time value, only their average is plotted.
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Plots Section
Plots Section
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
30.00
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0
Data Plot
Time
Y
Y Variables
P1
P2
P3
This is a plot of the three curves under which the area was calculated. These plots let you spot any
data inadequacies.

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