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Diagnostic tests not recommended “just to be on the safe side”

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Added by MiAmigo
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DIG DEEPER at Norwegian SciTech News:
https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2023/01/diagnostic-tests-not-recommended-just-to-be-on-the-safe-side/

Imagine that you contact your GP because you have back pain. You want to have your back examined and so you request an MRI. The GP knows that if the pain has lasted less than four to six weeks and you are not experiencing certain warning symptoms, then sending you for an MRI will be of little help.

But you think it has to be better to know than not to know and push to have the MRI. The GP wants to be helpful and agrees to an MRI referral. You go in for your appointment a few weeks later, and after a few days you hear back.

The MRI results show that you have several herniated discs in your back. It is unclear whether they have anything to do with your current pain or are old prolapses.

Yet you still think that this finding might be a possible cause of the pain, and you read up on prolapses. Could surgery help? You ask your GP whether you should be referred to an orthopaedist for assessment. The GP says there’s no good reason to do that, but you’re not sure what the best option is – your back really hurts and you’re even more unsure than you were before you had the MRI.

Should you have surgery? Would an operation be successful – and what are the risks?

This is just one example of how we can become more uncertain by trying to reduce uncertainty. In the case above, the MRI generated a (random) finding of ambiguous significance.

DIG DEEPER at Norwegian SciTech News:
https://norwegianscitechnews.com/2023/01/diagnostic-tests-not-recommended-just-to-be-on-the-safe-side/
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