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Citation:
Tigges S, Bell D, Sharma R, True positive. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 30 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-195411
True positive (TP) is one of 4 possible outcomes when using a test with a binary outcome to detect disease: "test positive" is when the test result signifies that disease is present and "test negative" is when the test result signifies that disease is absent 1-3. A positive test in someone with disease is a true positive. The true positive rate (the probability of a positive test result in someone with disease) is also known as the sensitivity.
There are 3 other possible test outcomes:
A disease has a prevalence of 1/1,000. A test to detect the disease has a false positive rate of 5% and a false negative rate of 0%. What is the sensitivity of the test?
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1. Parikh R, Mathai A, Parikh S, Chandra Sekhar G, Thomas R. Understanding and Using Sensitivity, Specificity and Predictive Values. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2008;56(1):45-50. doi:10.4103/0301-4738.37595 - Pubmed
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2. Tigges S. Diagnostic Test Metrics and Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves: The Graphic Novel. J Am Coll Radiol. 2022;19(9):1034-41. doi:10.1016/j.jacr.2022.06.011 - Pubmed
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3. Loong T. Understanding Sensitivity and Specificity with the Right Side of the Brain. BMJ. 2003;327(7417):716-9. doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7417.716 - Pubmed
Multiple choice questions:
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