A Diagnostic Dilemma: Sometimes You ’ ll Never Know

Discussion It can be difficult to consider what is the problem when a health care provider is presented with a group of seemingly disparate signs and symptoms with a history and time course that do not match classic (or commonly atypical) disease presentations. Common things happen commonly, so when symptoms occur without the usual co-occurring symptoms, unusual symptoms or time courses, it can be challenging. The provider must develop a reasonable differential diagnosis and balance how far to go with the evaluation against how much to monitor the patient for new signs or symptoms which can provide new information. Patient safety and the natural time course of diseases have to be considered. Providers also recognize that well-appearing individuals with acute onset of problems usually have a common problem such as a viral syndrome and have to balance that knowledge. The judicial use of laboratory testing and other health care providers’ expertise to help clarify some of the confounding problems, and give guidance and reassurance for the provider as he/she works through a diagnostic dilemma. The provider was presented with chronic joint pain with acute swelling. While this could be a virus, occult trauma, malignancy, rheumatological disease or even an unusual infection such as tuberculosis are potential considerations. A differential diagnosis of leg pain can be found here. Early symptoms of rheumatological disease can overlap with many common illnesses. A review of juven...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news