Epidemiology & Screening · NEET PG Preparation Community Medicine (PSM)
A screening test for diabetes has high sensitivity but low specificity. Which of the following is the most appropriate implication of using this test…
Practice question from Epidemiology & Screening (NEET PG Preparation Community Medicine (PSM)), with the correct answer and a step-by-step solution.
hard · MCQ · Q-1F9865
A screening test for diabetes has high sensitivity but low specificity. Which of the following is the most appropriate implication of using this test in a community?
- A.It will miss a large number of true diabetic patients.
- B.It will lead to a high number of false positives requiring confirmatory tests.Correct answer
- C.It will have a very high positive predictive value.
- D.It is best used as a confirmatory test rather than a screening test.
Solution
High sensitivity means the test catches almost all true cases (few false negatives, so very few missed cases). Low specificity means many non-diseased individuals will test positive (high false positives), which increases the burden of unnecessary confirmatory testing.
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