What is considered a differential diagnosis?
A differential diagnosis is a list of possible conditions that share the same symptoms that you described to your healthcare provider. This list is not your final diagnosis, but a theory as to what is potentially causing your symptoms.
What should a differential diagnosis include?
Most differential diagnoses include a physical exam and a health history. During a health history, you’ll be asked about your symptoms, lifestyle, and previous health problems. You’ll also be asked about your family’s health problems. Your provider may also order lab tests for different diseases.
Why is it important to have a differential diagnosis?
Abstract. Differential diagnosis, that is, the creation of a list of suspected diseases, is important as it guides us in looking for these diseases in a patient during diagnosis. If a disease is not included in differential diagnosis, it is not likely to be diagnosed.
How do you organize a differential diagnosis?
First, list the most likely diagnoses. Second, list out the life-threatening diagnoses that you want to quickly rule out. Finally, list the rare diagnoses. Common diagnoses – List common disorders for which this could be a typical or atypical presentation.
How do you frame differential diagnosis?
- Step 1: Identify the Problem.
- Step 2: Frame the Differential Diagnosis.
- Step 3: Organize the Differential Diagnosis.
- Step 4: Limit the Differential Diagnosis.
- Step 5: Explore Possible Diagnoses Using History and Physical Exam Findings.
- Step 6: Rank the Differential Diagnosis.
- Step 7: Test Your Hypotheses.
Why is differential diagnosis important in healthcare?
Generating a differential diagnosis — that is, developing a list of the possible conditions that might produce a patient’s symptoms and signs — is an important part of clinical reasoning. It enables appropriate testing to rule out possibilities and confirm a final diagnosis.
What is a differential diagnosis in nursing?
The differential diagnosis begins as a list of common and not so common diagnoses that are associated with a particular chief complaint or symptom. This process allows the advanced practice nurse to consider a multitude of interrelated cause- and-effect possibilities.
Why differential diagnosis is required?