article thumbnail

Clinical Reasoning Corner: Illness Script

The Clinical Problem Solvers

In the reasoning process, we use illness scripts to compare and contrast a patient’s clinical presentation (i.e., our own illness scripts) as we reason to a working diagnosis or a final diagnosis. lab tests, imaging, and/or pathology). shortness of breath is present in heart failure and pneumonia).

Illness 52
article thumbnail

You don’t need labs to medically clear a psych patient

PEMBlog

However, the vast majority of pediatric patients with psychiatric complaints do not present with undifferentiated acute psychosis; rather, they are seen for behavioral concerns or suicidal ideation. When should the emergency physician obtain lab tests to medically clear such patients? Acute onset psychosis is relatively rare.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

How to Make an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis in Primary Care: A Podcast with Nathaniel Chin

GeriPal

Eric 00:27 So we’re going to be talking about making the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in a primary care setting, not specialty care, but maybe we could talk a little bit about that. So we now have blood tests that can reasonably approximate the degree of amyloid buildup in the brain. I just had lab tests done.

article thumbnail

Under Pressure: Hypertensive Emergencies in the Pediatric Emergency Department

PEMBlog

Hypertensive emergency is a clinical diagnosis characterized by a sudden and severe elevation in blood pressure accompanied by signs of acute end-organ dysfunction. Additional lab testing can be completed to account for the broader differential diagnoses. A value of > or = 50 ng/mL is considered abnormal.

article thumbnail

What can we learn from simulations? Amber Barnato

GeriPal

And when you and I talk about, what’s the key medical decision or diagnosis that we’re making all the time, we’re making a decision about like, “Is this patient sick enough to die? They look at the signs and symptoms, they do a physical exam, maybe some lab tests or some imaging.