Perspective | Beware of overdiagnosis harms from screening, lower diagnostic thresholds, and incidentalomas
27 Feb, 2023 | 13:18h | UTCSummary: This article discusses the concept of overdiagnosis and its relevance to clinical practice guidelines. Overdiagnosis is the diagnosis of a condition that, if unrecognized, would not result in symptoms or cause a patient harm during their lifetime, such as discovering a low-grade cancer that will never lead to symptoms at the end of life. But, unlike false positives, overdiagnosed individuals truly have the condition; they just don’t benefit from the diagnosis. Overdiagnosis can also result from lowering diagnostic thresholds for diagnosing a disease, which inflates diagnosis rates among patients and leads to recommendations for subsequent interventions without clear benefits. The article highlights the importance of providing accurate information to patients about the possibility and burden of overdiagnosis to inform shared decision-making and minimize the harms of screening interventions.
Related:
Overdiagnosis: it’s official – The BMJ
Overdiagnosis: what it is and what it isn’t – BMJ Evidence Based Medicine
Overdiagnosis across medical disciplines: a scoping review – The BMJ Open
Too much medical care: bad for you, bad for health care systems – STAT News
Overdiagnosis: causes and consequences in primary health care – Canadian Family Physician
Five warning signs of overdiagnosis – The Conversation
What is overdiagnosed cancer? And why does it matter? – Croakey
Blame rising cancer overdiagnosis on ‘irrational exuberance’ for early detection – STAT
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