diagnosis techniques Flashcards
Clinical Decisions
- requires succinct evaluation
- it’s frustrating at best
Objective info
Information that can be measured or
perceived by the investigating clinician;
i.e. signs
e.g. temperature, size , color, duration,
consistency, surface contour, etc..
subjective info
Subjective
Patient’s own interpretation of a clinical
circumstance; i.e., symptoms
Relies on neurologic and psychologic
experiences
e.g. patient awareness of presence of a
lesion, pain intensity, pain quality
(stabbing, burning, shocking, etc…),
temperature, etc…
Differential Diagnosis components
* Orderly?
* Gathering?
* Knowledge and experience enable?
* Include and/or exclude disease processes
based on?
- Orderly sequential approach
- Gathering and analyzing data
- Knowledge and experience enable
recognition of abnormal findings - Include and/or exclude disease processes
based on an educated assessment of the
process
Gather and analyze data
– History
– Clinical findings
* Specific/unique signs
* Specific/unique symptoms
Differential Diagnosis
* Be aware of characteristic what?
- Be aware of characteristic radiographic
appearances - Be aware of characteristic clinical
manifestations
- Be aware of characteristic manifestations based on:
– Age
– Gender
– location
inspection
visual observations
Clinical Description components
single vs multiple, (aka systemic)
* location
* relative proximity to adjacent structures
* size in dimension (mm)
* outline - well-demarcated vs diffuse
* color – red, white, mixed, pigmented
* consistency – firm, flaccid, compressible
* intensity – mild, moderate, intense, striated, lacy
* base and surface
surface descriptors
smooth, corrugated, eroded, raised,
depressed
base descriptors
base – pedunculated, sessile, nodular, dome-shape
mucosal lesion morphologies
- bulla
- ulcer
- pustule
- fissure
- macule
- nodule
- papule
- plaque
- vesicle
- wheal
bulla
raised, fluid filled, larger than vesicle
fissure
crack/break in skin
macule
flat, colored
nodule
solid/raised, larger than papule
papule
small, circular, raised
plaque
raised, flat
pustule
raised, contains pus
ulcer
destrcution of epithelium lining