sensitivity – when referring to the accuracy of a test result, sensitivity refers to the proportion of people with an illness or disease who have a positive test result.
If a test has low sensitivity, then false-negative results are the concern – where people have a condition but it is missed.
If a test has high sensitivity, then people are accurately diagnosed – and only a few people are missed.
For a serious condition, high sensitivity is essential to be able to identify people early.
Online calculator.
See specificity.
sensitivity – when referring to the activity of a drug, sensitive means that a drug still works. As resistance develops a drug becomes less sensitive.
A complete loss of sensitivity implies that a drug is no longer working.
It also means that your partner may benefit from counselling.
late breaker – in research, this is a study presented at a medical meeting that was submitted to the conference organisers after the main programme had been decided. There are usually only a few dozen late-breakers, where the last minute results are thought important enough to include – like ‘late-breaking news’. Although this studies often contain the most exciting news, they are given much less time to present their results – maybe less than 10 minutes compared to a normal 15 or 20 minute session. These summary results are also difficult to verify because they include fewer slides and fewer details.
cholesterol – kind of lipid (blood fat).
open label – this means that a patient in a trial knows which treatment they are taking.
HBV – hepatitis B, a virus that causes liver disease.
Hepatitis B.
