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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

Ned Gilbert-Kawai
Affiliation:
The Royal Liverpool Hospital
Debashish Dutta
Affiliation:
Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Harlow
Carl Waldmann
Affiliation:
Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading
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Summary

Key Learning Points

  1. 1. Clinical reasoning is used to interpret and integrate our knowledge into a complete decision-making process.

  2. 2. Identify relevant key information from clinical history, examination and investigations using a standardised approach.

  3. 3. Describe the problem using this key information to help formulate a diagnosis or clinical syndrome (keeping it relevant and in clinical context).

  4. 4. Remember, a clinical syndrome is not the diagnosis. Look for the cause.

  5. 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 Medicine
The Essential Guide
, pp. 79 - 82
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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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

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