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Sensitivity (definition)

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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The sensitivity of a test can be described as the proportion of true positives of the total number with the target disorder.

All patients with the target disorder is the sum of (detected) true positives (TP) and (undetected) false negatives (FN).

Target Disorder Present

Target Disorder Absent

Test result positive

True Positive (TP)

False Positive (FP)

Test result negative

False Negative (FN)

True Negative (TN)

Sensitivity is therefore:

  • TP / (TP + FN) x 100%

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