Diagnostic Reasoning and Evidence-Based Medicine Flashcards

Which approach to clinical decision-making integrates the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values?

Answer: Evidence-based medicine (EBM)

EBM as defined by Sackett integrates best research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient preferences and values into clinical decision-making.

The positive predictive value (PPV) of a test increases as:

Answer: Disease prevalence in the tested population increases

PPV (probability a positive test is truly positive) rises when the disease is more prevalent in the population being tested, because there are more true positives relative to false positives.

A systematic review that mathematically pools data from multiple RCTs to increase statistical power is called a:

Answer: Meta-analysis

Meta-analysis combines quantitative data from multiple studies using statistical methods to derive more precise pooled estimates of treatment effects.

Anchoring bias in clinical decision-making occurs when a physician:

Answer: Relies too heavily on the first piece of clinical information and fails to adjust sufficiently

Anchoring bias causes physicians to remain fixed on an initial impression even when subsequent information suggests a different diagnosis.

In a clinical study, internal validity refers to:

Answer: Whether the study results accurately reflect the true effect in the study population

Internal validity reflects how well the study design eliminates bias and confounding to establish that the observed association is real within the study population.

Which type of error occurs when a study fails to detect a true difference between groups because of insufficient sample size?

Answer: Type II error (beta error)

A Type II (beta) error is a false negative — failing to detect a real difference due to inadequate statistical power, often caused by too small a sample size.