Book contents
- Intensive Care Medicine
- Intensive Care Medicine
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Foreword
- Abbreviations
- Section 1 Resuscitation and Management of the Acutely Ill Patient
- Section 2 Diagnosis, Assessment, Investigation, Monitoring and Data Interpretation
- Introduction
- The SBAR Tool
- Introduction
- Initial Primary Assessment
- Secondary Assessment
- Continuing Assessment
- Introduction
- Common Immediate Tests
- ECG Modes and Configurations
- Rate
- Cardiac Axis
- Bundle Branch Block
- QT Interval
- Other Abnormalities
- ST Abnormalities and Ischaemic Changes
- Inherited Disorders
- Introduction
- Types of Infection and Related Organisms
- Surveillance
- General Principles of Sampling
- Special Tests – Lumbar Puncture
- Introduction
- Indications for Arterial Blood Gas Samples
- Contraindications
- Sampling Sites
- Technique (Follow Local Hospital Procedure)
- Problems
- Complications
- Potential Sources of Error
- ABG Interpretation
- A Quick Approach to Deciphering the ABG
- Some Caveats
- Stewart’s Physicochemical Approach to Acid–Base
- Plain Film Radiographs (X-ray)
- Computed Tomography
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Radiation
- Introduction
- Challenges of Portable Chest Radiography in ICU
- Systematic Assessment of ICU CXRs
- The ‘LLL’ Approach
- Pneumonia versus Pulmonary Oedema versus ARDS – Which Is It?
- Introduction
- CT Head Anatomy
- Meninges
- CT Checklist: ‘AB BCS’
- Grey–White Matter Differentiation
- CSF Spaces
- Skull/Scalp
- Introduction
- Systematic Assessment of the Abdominal X-ray: BBC
- B: Bones/Soft Tissue
- C: Calcifications/Artefacts
- Abdominal Pathology on CT
- Introduction
- Features of NEWS Scoring Systems
- Updated NEWS 2 Scoring System
- Advantages
- Disadvantages
- Introduction
- Clinical Reasoning and Critical Thinking
- The Clinical Reasoning Process
- Important Steps to Making a Differential Diagnosis
- Acknowledgements
- 2.1 Principles of Obtaining a History
- 2.2 Principles of Performing an Accurate Clinical Examination
- 2.3 How to Undertake Timely and Appropriate Investigations
- 2.4 General Principles of Performing and Interpretation of Electrocardiography Results
- 2.5 General Principles of Obtaining Appropriate Microbiological Samples and Interpretation of Results
- 2.6 Obtaining and Interpretation of Results from Blood Gas Samples (Acid–Base Balance and Disorders)
- 2.7 Principles of Interpreting Imaging Studies (X-ray/CT/MRI)
- 2.8 Imaging of the Chest
- 2.9 Imaging of the Head
- 2.10 Imaging of the Abdomen
- 2.11 Importance of Monitoring and Responding to Trends in Physiological Variables
- 2.12 How to Integrate Clinical Findings with Laboratory Investigations to Form a Differential Diagnosis
- Domain 3 Disease Management: Recognition, Causes and Management
- Section 4 Therapeutic Interventions and Organ Support
- Domain 5 Practical Procedures
- Section 6 Perioperative Care
- Section 7 Comfort and Recovery
- Section 8 End-of-Life Care
- Section 9 Paediatric Care
- Section 10 Transport
- Section 11 Professionalism, Patient Safety, Governance and Health Systems Management
- Index
- References
2.12 - How to Integrate Clinical Findings with Laboratory Investigations to Form a Differential Diagnosis
from Section 2 - Diagnosis, Assessment, Investigation, Monitoring and Data Interpretation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 July 2023
Book contents
- Intensive Care Medicine
- Intensive Care Medicine
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Foreword
- Abbreviations
- Section 1 Resuscitation and Management of the Acutely Ill Patient
- Section 2 Diagnosis, Assessment, Investigation, Monitoring and Data Interpretation
- Introduction
- The SBAR Tool
- Introduction
- Initial Primary Assessment
- Secondary Assessment
- Continuing Assessment
- Introduction
- Common Immediate Tests
- ECG Modes and Configurations
- Rate
- Cardiac Axis
- Bundle Branch Block
- QT Interval
- Other Abnormalities
- ST Abnormalities and Ischaemic Changes
- Inherited Disorders
- Introduction
- Types of Infection and Related Organisms
- Surveillance
- General Principles of Sampling
- Special Tests – Lumbar Puncture
- Introduction
- Indications for Arterial Blood Gas Samples
- Contraindications
- Sampling Sites
- Technique (Follow Local Hospital Procedure)
- Problems
- Complications
- Potential Sources of Error
- ABG Interpretation
- A Quick Approach to Deciphering the ABG
- Some Caveats
- Stewart’s Physicochemical Approach to Acid–Base
- Plain Film Radiographs (X-ray)
- Computed Tomography
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Radiation
- Introduction
- Challenges of Portable Chest Radiography in ICU
- Systematic Assessment of ICU CXRs
- The ‘LLL’ Approach
- Pneumonia versus Pulmonary Oedema versus ARDS – Which Is It?
- Introduction
- CT Head Anatomy
- Meninges
- CT Checklist: ‘AB BCS’
- Grey–White Matter Differentiation
- CSF Spaces
- Skull/Scalp
- Introduction
- Systematic Assessment of the Abdominal X-ray: BBC
- B: Bones/Soft Tissue
- C: Calcifications/Artefacts
- Abdominal Pathology on CT
- Introduction
- Features of NEWS Scoring Systems
- Updated NEWS 2 Scoring System
- Advantages
- Disadvantages
- Introduction
- Clinical Reasoning and Critical Thinking
- The Clinical Reasoning Process
- Important Steps to Making a Differential Diagnosis
- Acknowledgements
- 2.1 Principles of Obtaining a History
- 2.2 Principles of Performing an Accurate Clinical Examination
- 2.3 How to Undertake Timely and Appropriate Investigations
- 2.4 General Principles of Performing and Interpretation of Electrocardiography Results
- 2.5 General Principles of Obtaining Appropriate Microbiological Samples and Interpretation of Results
- 2.6 Obtaining and Interpretation of Results from Blood Gas Samples (Acid–Base Balance and Disorders)
- 2.7 Principles of Interpreting Imaging Studies (X-ray/CT/MRI)
- 2.8 Imaging of the Chest
- 2.9 Imaging of the Head
- 2.10 Imaging of the Abdomen
- 2.11 Importance of Monitoring and Responding to Trends in Physiological Variables
- 2.12 How to Integrate Clinical Findings with Laboratory Investigations to Form a Differential Diagnosis
- Domain 3 Disease Management: Recognition, Causes and Management
- Section 4 Therapeutic Interventions and Organ Support
- Domain 5 Practical Procedures
- Section 6 Perioperative Care
- Section 7 Comfort and Recovery
- Section 8 End-of-Life Care
- Section 9 Paediatric Care
- Section 10 Transport
- Section 11 Professionalism, Patient Safety, Governance and Health Systems Management
- Index
- References
Summary
Key Learning Points
1. Clinical reasoning is used to interpret and integrate our knowledge into a complete decision-making process.
2. Identify relevant key information from clinical history, examination and investigations using a standardised approach.
3. Describe the problem using this key information to help formulate a diagnosis or clinical syndrome (keeping it relevant and in clinical context).
4. Remember, a clinical syndrome is not the diagnosis. Look for the cause.
5. Structure the problem by applying the key information to a structured framework to create a diagnosis/clinical syndrome/differential.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Intensive Care MedicineThe Essential Guide, pp. 79 - 82Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
References
References and Further Reading
Strong, E. 2013. How to create a differential diagnosis. Part 1. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKrLPY_8CykGoogle Scholar
Strong, E. 2013. How to create a differential diagnosis. Part 2. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEbonwYPNVkGoogle Scholar
Strong, E. 2013. How to create a differential diagnosis. Part 3. www.youtube.com/watch?v=n48zY7GLqc0Google Scholar
Victor-Chmil, J. Critical thinking vs clinical reasoning vs clinical judgement. Nurse Educ 2013;38:34–6.Google Scholar