What is the difference between sensitivity and specificity?
In medical diagnostic testing, the accuracy and validity of a test are paramount. Two key factors that denote this accuracy are sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity relates to the test's ability to correctly identify patients who have the disease. For instance, a test with a sensitivity of 80% can accurately detect the disease in 80% of afflicted individuals, whereas it will overlook it in 20%—these undetected cases are referred to as 'false negatives'.
On the other hand, specificity is about the test's precision in correctly identifying those without the disease. An 80% specificity implies that the test can accurately identify 80% of the individuals who are disease-free, while it will erroneously classify 20% as having the disease—these misclassifications are termed 'false positives'.
Screening in a clinical setting often involves a 'gold standard' test, deemed most accurate for its high sensitivity and specificity, to correctly identify patients with and without the disease respectively. Understanding sensitivity and specificity is crucial in medical diagnostics to limit false positives and negatives, thereby improving disease management and patient outcomes.
Key terms:
Sensitivity: Sensitivity is the ability of a test to correctly identify individuals who have a specific disease or condition.
Specificity: Specificity refers to a test's ability to correctly identify individuals who do not have a specific disease or condition.
True Positive: A true positive is a result where the test correctly identifies the presence of a disease or condition in an individual.
True Negative: A true negative is a result where the test correctly identifies the absence of a disease or condition in an individual.
False Positive: A false positive is a result where the test incorrectly indicates the presence of a disease or condition in an individual who does not have it.
False Negative: A false negative is a result where the test incorrectly indicates the absence of a disease or condition in an individual who actually has it.
Prevalence: Prevalence is the proportion of a population that has a specific disease or condition at a given time.
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