Letters
Your results may vary
Interpreting test results: don’t blame the tools
BMJ 2020; 368 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1162 (Published 25 March 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;368:m1162
- Santhanam Sundar, consultant oncologist
- Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham NG5 1PB, UK
- sundar{at}oncology.org
McCormack and Holmes discuss the imprecision of medical measurements and suggest a method for estimating variation in test results.1 Byron’s paraphrased proverb, “Good workmen never quarrel with their tools,” aptly summarises the art of interpreting test results.2
If there were a perfect laboratory test for a given condition, patients could cut …