Epidemiology & Prevention USMLE Step 1 Practice Question
A 34-year-old woman presents to the emergency department in July with fever (38.5°C), cough, and myalgias for 2 days. Vital signs: BP 118/76, HR 92, RR 18, SpO2 98% on room air. A rapid influenza assay is performed. Chest X-ray shows no infiltrates. She denies recent travel. The test's sensitivity and specificity remain constant year-round. Compared to testing during peak winter influenza season, which parameter is most likely to be higher when this assay is used during summer months?
Answer choices
- ANegative predictive valueCorrect answer
- BPositive predictive value
- CFalse-positive rate
- DSensitivity
- ESpecificity
- FPositive likelihood ratio
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