Diagnostic tests of medical conditions can have several types of results. The te
ID: 3127092 • Letter: D
Question
Diagnostic tests of medical conditions can have several types of results. The test can be positive or negative, whether or not a patient has the condition. A positive test(+) indicates that the patient has the conditions. A negative test (-) indicates that the patient does not have the condition. Remember, a positive test does not prove the patient has the condition. Additional medical work may be required. In a recent article, a team of doctors discuss using a fever of 38degreeC or higher as a diagnostic indicator of postoperative atelectasis (collapse of the lung) as evidenced by x-ray observation. For fever 38degreeC as the diagnostic test, the results for postoperative patients are given below. Assume the sample is representation of the population. For a person selected at random, compute the following probabilities. (Enter your answers as fractions.) (a) P(+ 1 condition present); this is known as the sensitivity of a test. (b) P(-1 condition present); this is known as the false-negative race. (c) P(-1 condition absent); this is known as the specificity of a test. (d) P(+1 condition absent); this is known as the false positive rate. (e) P(condition present and +); this is predictive value of the test. (f) P(condition present and -).Explanation / Answer
a). 65/143
b). 78/143
c). 76/116
d). 40/116
e). 65/259
f). 78/259