Tests may be performed to investigate the cause of symptoms and establish a diagnosis, to monitor the course of a disease, or to assess response to treatment. A medical testing programme carried out on apparently healthy people to find disease at an early stage is known as screening. The accuracy of a test is based on its sensitivity (ability to correctly identify diseased subjects), specificity (ability to correctly identify healthy subjects), and predictive value. The predictive value is determined by a mathematical formula that involves the number of accurate test results and the total number of tests performed. The best tests have both high specificity and high sensitivity, and therefore high predictive value.
Tests, medical |
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