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Sensitivity, specificity and a used car salesman: which one should you trust?
Recent articles on:
Evaluating health information
Evaluating health information
Recent articles on:
Medical professions
Medical professions
Abstract
Almost daily, GPs are confronted with decisions about initiating tests or interpreting test results. Making decisions in this setting requires understanding the characteristics of the tests as well as the population in which the tests are being used.
Key Points
Tests may be very good at detecting disease or, alternatively, they may be good at excluding disease. The value of a test depends also on how common the disease is in a population. The best screening test in the world for prostate cancer is not of much use in most women!
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