When considering diagnosis or screening investigations, consider all available tests. It is prudent to consider the least invasive option that will have similar sensitivity and specificity to guide clinical decision making to minimize the potential for harm to the patient. For example, when diagnosing acute appendicitis in children, ultrasound should be considered before computed tomography (CT) scanning. Not only is ultrasound radiation- and contrast-free, but it has been shown to be equivalent to CT scanning in the diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis across several clinically-relevant endpoints, including time to antibiotic delivery, time to appendectomy, negative appendectomy rate, perforation rate, or length of stay. Another example is conducting a non-invasive urea breath test rather than invasive endoscopy to prove H. pylori eradication. The sensitivity and specificity of the urea breath test are superior compared to other diagnostic tests and the risk of patient harm is minimal compared to endoscopy.
Conditions: Acute appendicitis, H. pylori infection, non-invasive urea breath test, invasive endoscopy
Diagnostic Tests: Invasive, less invasive, screening, diagnostic tests, computed tomography (CT) scanning, ultrasound
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