A therapist is determining the likelihood that patients with positive test results actually have SI joint pain. This refers to which concept?

• A. Negative Predictive Value
• B. Positive Predictive Value
• C. Specificity
• D. Sensitivity

Answer: (B)

Positive Predictive Value (PPV) refers to the likelihood that individuals who test positive for a condition indeed have that condition. In the context of the question, the therapist is looking at patients with positive test results for sacroiliac (SI) joint pain and trying to ascertain how likely it is that these patients truly have that ailment.

PPV is influenced by the accuracy of the test and the prevalence of the condition within the population being tested. A high PPV means that a greater proportion of those who test positive are true positives, indicating that the test is effectively identifying individuals with actual SI joint pain. Therefore, when determining the likelihood of a true diagnosis based on positive test outcomes, positive predictive value is the most relevant concept in this scenario.