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Laboratory Testing

Calculating Predictive Value

The following table shows how to calculate positive and negative predictive values.

  Condition (as determined by the gold standard)  
Present Absent
Test Outcome Positive True Positive
a
False Positive
b
Positive predictive value
PPV = TP/(TP+FP)
=a/(a+b)
Negative False Negative
c
True Negative
d
Negative predictive value
NPV = TN/(FN+TN)
=d/(c+d)
  Sensitivity
a/(a+c)
Specificity
d/(b+d)
 

Here is an example of how these formulas would be used:

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