Setting Probabilities: Lost in the Translation

  1. Bogdan Dragos Grigoriu;
  2. Liliana Veres, MD; and
  3. Traian Mihaescu, MD
  1. University School of Medicine
    Iasi 6600, Romania

    Excerpt

    To the Editors: Terms used to express physiologic and pathologic variability include probability expressions ranging between "never and always." Their meanings differ among physicians, leading to misunderstandings and management errors (1-3). We studied the meaning of 18 common Romanian expressions of probability and how their English equivalents were perceived by Romanian readers of English medical texts.

    Forty physicians and 37 medical students (all with a good knowledge of English) took part in this study. They were asked to assign a numerical value to statements about the frequency of a new, hypothetical symptom in lung cancer (called "XYZ"). The probability expressions

    This 100-word excerpt has been provided in the absence of an abstract.

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    1. Ann Intern Med January 1, 1992 vol. 116 no. 1 94
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