Diagnostics Flashcards
airport scanners are very
sensitive tests
- they always go off
airport scanners aren’t very
specific
- most who set them off re not carrying a gun
BUT
no one with a gun will get through
often high sensitivity tests
have more specific tests after e.g. one of the more technical airport signals
further tests are usually
time-consuming
expensive
more invasive
example of a sensitive test
HIV testing in blood donor is very sensitive- it is better to throw away a good sample than give infected blood
example of specific test
diagnosing need for kidney transplant is very specific
-it is better not to throw away a good kidney
the important elf a good diagnosis
correct therapy can be used.g. T1 vs T2, which cancer?
early detection
gives better prognosis
diagnosis and screens
a poorly person may visit a doctor- clinical knowledge/ diagnostic tests
an ‘at risk’ population may be
screen- often requires clinical referral and subsequent tests for a diagnosis
what can we use for a diagnostics
something measurable that is different in affected group
symptoms
spots, never, swelling, bleeding
physiology
temp, bp, spirometry, eGFR
Blood-borne
hormone levels, blood glucose, inflammatory mediators, PSA, genetic markers, antibodies
biopsy-based
cancer antigens, cancer histology, leukocytes, genetic markers
what is required for diagnosis
an accurate diagnostic cut-off
the diagnostic cut off lies between
true negatives (healthy) and true positives (diseaseO
Joy’s nose- t shirt sampling smell test for 12 individuals
- 6 diagnosed with parkinson’s
- 1 undiagnosed
- 5 healthy
she was 100% sensitive- no missed cases
and 100% specific- no wrong cases
some people with the disease will be
called negative and some people without the disease will be called positive
VOCs
volatile organic compounds
VOCs are present in
sweat, urine, poo and breath
- metabolic products
- quick, cheap, non-invasive
e. g. dogs smelling for cancer
imaging
e.g. IPF scan, x rays, histology, karyotyping
parameters used in imagine
size, shape, number
- scoring system often used
- subjectivity can be an issue
- expert opinion sometimes required