[The Emperor's New Clothes syndrome. Description of a new epidemic]

In 1971, F. Gross, inspired by "The Emperor's new clothes" (H.C. Andersen--1835), published in the New England Journal of Medicine, a report of an endemic polysystem disease: the emperor's clothes syndrome. In the first place, it touches students or physicians who fear losing their prestige. From personal observations, we describe a new epidemic of this disease whose radiological image is the main vector. By this comment, we wish to attract the attention to the danger of giving a diagnosis uniquely on the basis of the complementary examinations. We want to underline the importance of the medical history and physical examination. All clinical or radiological data, all biological phenomenons are subject to variable interpretation. There exist statistical methods to estimate the sensitivity, the specificity and the clinical value of a test.