The State Department's intelligence arm, which, like the C.I.A., is particularly attuned to the political implications of a test, has also expressed doubts.
"We can't tell what they are doing". Nonetheless, American officials have been sufficiently alarmed that they have extensively briefed their Japanese and South Korean allies and warned them to be prepared for the political implications of a test.
For example, LFS is characterized by a wide tumor spectrum and tumor risk in children; therefore, TP53 testing should be carefully considered and all of the clinical implications of a positive test should be clearly explained before testing.
Finally, the authors discuss studies of the CART and the social and practical implications of such a test.
Whether HPV testing could identify low-risk women would depend on the natural history of the virus in older women and the personal and social implications of introducing a test for a sexually transmitted disease into a national screening program (34 ).
"The potential implications of such a test are huge," Thery wrote in an editorial published alongside the study, in the journal Nature.
It is important that testing interventions provide adequate pre-test counselling, to allow patients to understand the implications of a positive test and the treatments available.
Measures that distinguish between the implications of a positive test result (positive predictive value (PPV), positive likelihood ratio (LR), specificity) and a negative test result (negative predictive value, negative LR, sensitivity) are more useful for decision-making than global test accuracy measures such as diagnostic ORs and the area under the curve (AUC).
Screening for LTBI with tuberculin skin test (TST) was used during several years but was suspended after a study demonstrated the limited implications of a positive test result, particularly the weak observance of the treatment for LTBI by physicians and asylum seekers with a positive TST [ 7].
Only 5% frequently ask about ejaculation in the week preceding a PSA test, 28% sometimes and 14% rarely or never discuss the implications of an abnormal test, prior to conducting the test.
