Your clinical opinion is always more reliable than a test.
More precisely, the clinical opinion of your consultant. A low CRP does not mean no infection. A raised D-dimer does not mean a definite pulmonary embolism. A result that doesn’t fit with your clinical suspicion should make you question your suspicion, but should not override it. Machines go wrong, more often than they should, and it’s your job to take the information in the context of the clinical picture.
If the patient has a potassium of 12, and they’re having a sandwich, they don’t have a potassium of 12, your machine has gone wrong.
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