In epidemiology, in test of validity, labeling cases or the presence of the attribute for which the test is conducted incorrectly.
A person wrongly diagnosed as not having a disease or condition which in fact he does have.
A test result that wrongly indicates that a person does not have the characteristics being tested for. If a child is given a screening test for hearing problems and the test fails to identify an existing hearing impairment, the result is a false negative.
Test or procedure result indicating a normal or negative result when, in fact, an abnormal condition is actually present. A test is said to be sensitive when it has a low false-negative rate. An insensitive test has a high false-negative rate and should not be relied upon to exclude abnormality or disease. For example, an electrocardiogram for heart disease is relatively insensitive—many patients with coronary artery disease, including acute heart attacks, have a negative result. Other tests, such as nuclear medicine treadmill scans, are far more sensitive due to a much lower percentage of false-negative results.
A term used to describe an inaccurate negative laboratory test result.
A diagnostic test result indicating that the patient does not have the condition being tested for, when in fact the patient does have it. A false negative leads to failure to treat a patient who has the condition in question, and a false sense of security on the part of the patient.
A test result that falsely indicates that a condition is not present when in fact it is.
A false negative is a test outcome that inaccurately indicates the absence of a specific disease or condition. For instance, a false negative result in a mammography test would suggest that the breast tissue is healthy when, in reality, breast cancer is present.