DIAGNOSTIC TESTING IN OBSTETRICS AND GYNECOLOGY - A CLINICIAN GUIDE

As we enter a new era of health care in the United States with limited economic resources, there will be an increasing demand for thoughtful and critical evaluation of the diagnostic tests used in clinical medi cine. To interpret the clinical utility of diagnostic tests, the physi cian must understand the fundamental concepts of sensitivity, specific ity, and predictive values. The purpose of this paper is to define the se terms, demonstrate the use of receiver operating characteristic cur ves and Bayes' theorem, and provide clinical examples in obstetrics an d gynecology to illustrate their use. Practitioners must be able to in terpret the results of diagnostic tests to provide accurate informatio n to their patients.