Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2003 Sep 27;327(7417):716-9.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.327.7417.716.

Understanding sensitivity and specificity with the right side of the brain

Tze-Wey Loong  1
Affiliations
Review

Understanding sensitivity and specificity with the right side of the brain

Tze-Wey Loong. BMJ. .

Erratum in

  • BMJ. 2003 Nov 1;327(7422):1043

Abstract

Can you explain why a test with 95% sensitivity might identify only 1% of affected people in the general population? The visual approach in this article should make the reason clearer

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Key to symbols
Fig 2
Fig 2
Hypothetical population
Fig 3
Fig 3
Results of diagnostic test on hypothetical population
Fig 4
Fig 4
Sensitivity of test
Fig 5
Fig 5
Specificity of test
Fig 6
Fig 6
Test with 100% sensitivity
Fig 7
Fig 7
Perfect test
Fig 8
Fig 8
Positive predictive value
Fig 9
Fig 9
Negative predictive value
Fig 10
Fig 10
Results of testing population with disease prevalence of 10%
Fig 11
Fig 11
Prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus
Fig 12
Fig 12
(top) Results of antibody nuclear test in systemic lupus erythematosus; (bottom) negative and positive predictive values
Figure 13
Figure 13
Figure 14
Figure 14
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Johnson AE, Gordon C, Palmer RG, Bacon PA. The prevalence and incidence of SLE in Birmingham, England. Relationship to ethnicity and country of birth. Arthritis Rheum 1995;38: 551-8. - PubMed
    1. Boey ML. Systemic lupus erythematosus. Singapore Med J 1992;33: 291-3. - PubMed