How Accurate is Ultrasound?
In Dr. Biller’s study (sometimes referred to as “the Ohio study”), Dr. Biller was able to diagnose cats at 10 months of age with 98% accuracy (as determined by eventual histopathology exams after natural death or euthanasia). Given the many variables in real-world testing (the skill, training and experience of the sonographer; the ultrasound equipment; etc.), my personal opinion is that the real-world accuracy will be somewhat lower — perhaps in the 90% to 95% range. Dr. DiBartola notes that in Dr. Biller’s and his paper in the Journal of Heredity, 1996: ” ultrasound exam had a sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 100% at 16 weeks of age and a sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 100% at 36 weeks of age,” where “sensitivity = true positive/(true positive +false negative) [i.e., how frequently positive results occur in animals with the disease] and specificity = true negative/(true negative + false negative) [i.e., how frequently negative results occur in animals without the disease]
A recent study showed when mammography and ultrasound are used in combination they have a sensitivity of 98.1% in detecting cancerous lesions. Ultrasound and mammography in combination greatly reduce the chances of false positives and negatives. Watch a video about sensitivity and specificity. TOP What is a false negative result? A false negative is when a medical test is determined to be ‘negative’ (i.e. no cancer) but the person being tested does have cancer. Watch a video about false negatives. TOP What is a false positive result? A false positive is when a medical test mistakenly detects cancer when the person being tested does NOT have cancer. Watch a video about false positives. TOP How should I prepare for an ultrasound? You will probably be asked to undress from the waist up and put on a gown, so it is best to wear a two piece outfit. Other than that there is no special procedure for an ultrasound.
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Related Questions
- Two ultrasound techs now have told me that, where dating a pregnancy is concerned, ultrasounds are most accurate between 4 weeks and 14 weeks. If your regular doctor was only going by your last menstrual period, I think the ultrasound is more accurate.
- How accurate is an ultrasound that determines the babys weight?
- How Accurate is Ultrasound?
