How the routine reporting of laboratory measurement uncertainty might affect clinical decision making in acute and emergency medicine

摘要

Twentieth century medical practice placed an emphasis on history and examination skills, as expounded by William Osler. A clinical impression would be formed and laboratory tests would then confirm, refine or refute the diagnosis. This paradigm incorporates the concept of pretest probability — a Bayesian approach whereby the post-test probability of a disease is influenced by the sensitivity and specificity of the test and the pretest probability (ie, likelihood) of the disease.