Can somebody explain the logic behind "SpIn SnOut" ?
Let Sp = specificity, Sn = sensitivity, TP/TN = true positives/negatives, FP/FN = false positives/negatives, and PPV/NPV = positive/negative predictive value. SpIn = "Specific test when Positive test rules IN the disease", and SnOut = "Sensitive test when Negative test rules OUT the disease").
Let's take SpIn for a spin in the following examples.
Firstly, the phrase regarding specificity, "when Positive test rules IN the disease" implies that a positive test has a high probability to be true. Putting these words into formula leads to a high (TP/(TP+FP)) = high PPV. The phrase "when positive test rules IN" describes high PPV rather than high Sp.
Secondly, the formula for specificity is Sp = (TN/(TN+FP)) – it describes the probability of a healthy individual to be identified as healthy. So, while, the formula for specificity describes how good a test is at categorising healthy people (aka people who ideally should get a negative test result), the SpIn mnemonic refers to positive test results. This juxtaposition is confusing (formula referring to healthy people vs mnemonic referring to positive test results).
Thirdly, the formula for specificity Sp = (TN/(TN+FP)) doesn't directly address the probability of a positive test to be true (remember, the mnemonic states "specific is when positive test rules in disease), albeit it implies the existence of a low number of false positives (Sp = 1 if FP = 0), which itself implies a high PPV (PPV = 1 if FP = 0). However, for any value of FP ≠ 0, PPV can theoretically equal anything, so it doesn't make sense to say "specific test rules in the disease".
So, why does the SpIn SnOut mnemonic exist, and is it actually true?