Medical test
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A medical test is any kind of medical procedure performed to aid in the detection or diagnosis of disease, or to guide its treatment.
- A screening test is a simple test used to detect the presence of disease in individuals in a defined population. An example is measuring the level of TSH in blood obtained from a newborn infant as part of newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism.
- A diagnostic test disease is a procedure performed to confirm the presence of disease in an individual suspected of having the disease. An example is measuring the blood sugar in a person suspected of having diabetes mellitus because of increased urination.
- A test may be performed to monitor the progress of, or response to medical treatment, of a disease. An example is a measurement of forced expiratory volume to assess response to treatment of asthma.
- A test may aid in determining the likely future course (prognosis) of a disease. An example is a biopsy of a removed tumor to determine the degree of malignancy.
- A test may be performed to confirm that a person is free from disease. An example is a thyroid scan performed after surgery to remove thyroid cancer.
See also
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
