A 52-year-old man attends the outpatient department for ear pain. As part of the consultation, the nurse records his blood pressure, which is found to be 168/104 mmHg on repeat measurement, leading to a new diagnosis of hypertension. Screening performed in this manner is termed:

• A Mass screening
• B Opportunistic (case-finding) screening ✓
• C Selective screening
• D Multiphasic screening

Explanation

Opportunistic screening or case-finding applies a screening test to patients who attend health facilities for unrelated complaints, exactly as here. Mass screening covers whole populations regardless of contact with services, selective screening targets defined high-risk groups, and multiphasic screening refers to simultaneous application of multiple tests to one individual. Case-finding is cost-effective in busy Indian outpatient settings because no additional outreach effort is required to reach the person.

Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.