Appendicitis (inflammation of the appendix) is potentially fatal; consequently, patients with symptoms strongly suggesting appendicitis almost always have their appendix removed  The appropriate surgery is low-risk but performed unnecessarily in about 20 percent of all cases  A newly developed internal scan for appendicitis is highly accurate, producing two misdiagnoses for every 98 correct diagnoses
Clearly, using this test, doctors can largely avoid unnecessary removals of the appendix without, however, performing any fewer necessary ones than before, since
the misdiagnoses produced by this test are always instances of attributing appendicitis to someone who does not, in fact, have it