Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making
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Comparative Study
Diagnostic workup bias in the evaluation of a test. Serum ferritin and hereditary hemochromatosis.
Two studies report markedly divergent results about the usefulness of serum ferritin in diagnosing iron overload in relatives of patients with hereditary hemochromatosis. One study found the sensitivity of elevated serum ferritin to be 0%; another study found a sensitivity of 100%. ⋯ In the study reporting a sensitivity of 100%, relatives with normal serum tests may have been excluded from consideration for liver biopsy, thus preventing detection of iron overload. The controversy may provide an empirical illustration of diagnostic workup bias.