title: [Bayesian statistics in medicine. Part I: The basic tools].
abstract: Bayesian statistics, so called after the British scientist Thomas Bayes who first used it in the 18th century, is a widely applied analytical tool in many branches of the applied sciences but is seldom mentioned in the medical literature. This paper aims to present a simple overview of the Bayesian method by introducing its basic mathematical tools (in particular the conditional probability) and then applying them to evaluate the characteristics of diagnostic tests.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Sanitarie Applicate e Psicocomportamentali, Sezione di Statistica Medica ed Epidemiologia, Università degli Studi, Via Agostino Bassi 21, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nichelatti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montomoli
mesh_terms: D001499:Bayes Theorem; D035843:Biomedical Research; D015510:Clinical Medicine; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D008432:Mathematical Computing