Research Article
A strategy for thyroid function tests.
Br Med J 1975; 3 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.3.5979.350 (Published 09 August 1975) Cite this as: Br Med J 1975;3:350- K E Britton,
- V Quinn,
- B L Brown,
- R P Ekins
Abstract
The concept of decision-aiding ranges were introduced to improve diagnostic efficiency. The clinical uncertainty in distinguishing borderline cases of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism among 1559 consecutive requests for thyroid function tests was 47%. This was reduced to 22% by using the free thyroxine index and to under 2% by using specific tests determined by the decision-aiding ranges.