Band Cells: Band cells are a type of white blood cell. Band cells are the immature form of neutrophils and are produced rapidly during an infection. A large percentage of band cells in a venous blood sample indicate an infectious process occurring in the body.
Sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity and specificity are concepts used to assess a clinical test. Sensitivity is a measure that determines the ability of a test to correctly classify an individual as sick or diseased. Specificity is a measure of the ability of a test to correctly classify an individual as healthy or disease-free. Parikh and others reckons that sensitivity and specificity are inversely proportional, which means that as the value of sensitivity increases, the value of specificity decreases and vice versa.
Sensitivity refers to a test's ability to designate an individual with disease as positive. A highly sensitive test means that there are few false negative results, and thus fewer cases of disease are missed. The specificity of a test is its ability to designate an individual who does not have a disease as negative. A highly specific test means that there are few false positive results.