LabDx

9/10/99

 

Complete the Glossary in the Syllabus

Differential Diagnosis:  A Strategic Approach

• Management of a patient—2 aspects

a.       Diagnosis

b.      Treatment

i.         Prevention

ii. Prognosis—forecasting

 

• Differential diagnosis—list of possibilities
• Radiculopathy—is it a diagnosis (an identifiable etiology)
• Neoplasm
• Infection
• Hemotoma
• Space occupying lesion (SOL)
• Abscess
• Spinal stenosis

 

Data Acquisition®analysis of positive findings®systems assignment®differential category®differential category®differential diagnosis®testing strategy®diagnosis®treatment

 

Data Acquisition

• History
• ROS
• 1000's of pieces of information is gathered

 

• Diagnosis is a way to test treatment
• Would like to avoid the testing strategy to save money, time and be more effective
• Risk stratification—cost effectiveness
• Low risk pt—limited amount of evaluation
• High risk pt—needs more evaluation
• Moderate risk pt
• Reduce uncertainty—why we do testing

 

Sensitivity

• Way of evaluating a test

• Finding an abnormality when it is present
• Test are about 90% sensitive
• Miss about 10%
• A function of cost
• Most sensitive way to ID a pathological process—biopsy