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Purpose of investigation: Difference between revisions
→A safe diagnostic strategy
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When an investigation is ordered for diagnosis, one should already have a list of differential diagnoses before ordering the test, and the test should be able to narrow down the list of differential diagnoses. It's important to consider the test's specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value in this. There is no reason to perform an investigation if it doesn't help narrow down the number of differential diagnoses. | When an investigation is ordered for diagnosis, one should already have a list of differential diagnoses before ordering the test, and the test should be able to narrow down the list of differential diagnoses. It's important to consider the test's specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value in this. There is no reason to perform an investigation if it doesn't help narrow down the number of differential diagnoses. | ||
=== | === Approach to diagnosis === | ||
When a patient is presented with symptoms or clinical findings, one should formulate a list of differential diagnoses which could be underlying. Often, this is not a conscious process but rather an unconscious one. [fortsett her]. | |||
The model "a safe diagnostic strategy", made by professor John Murtagh, involves five questions one should ask themselves during patient presentations: | The model "a safe diagnostic strategy", made by professor John Murtagh, involves five questions one should ask themselves during patient presentations: | ||