Internal Medicine Symptom Differential Diagnosis

Author: Chen Guowei
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Although medical science has made significant progress in recent years, and laboratory tests and equipment have advanced dramatically, medicine has transitioned from empirical to experimental and evidence-based medicine. However, through detailed medical history inquiries and meticulous physical examinations, combined with clinical symptoms and signs, as well as medical knowledge and clinical practice, comprehensive analysis and judgment remain the basic methods and primary basis for diagnosing diseases for clinical medical workers. In a sense, a doctor who can correctly diagnose diseases using simple physical examinations and equipment is a highly skilled doctor. Unfortunately, many young doctors today tend to prioritize experiments over clinical practice. In cases where detailed, insightful medical histories and physical examinations alone are sufficient for diagnosis, they still resort to "advanced" and expensive laboratory or equipment tests. This not only brings unnecessary trouble or suffering to patients but also increases medical costs, burdening society and patients. This is unacceptable. The author is not trying to reject necessary, targeted, and reasonable laboratory tests—quite the opposite. The author believes that laboratory and equipment tests are indispensable important tools for diagnosing diseases, especially for certain difficult-to-diagnose conditions where history and physical signs alone cannot confirm the diagnosis. Quantitative diagnosis, in particular, often requires laboratory tests. Here, the author emphasizes that during the process of disease diagnosis and treatment, it is important to focus on "three basic skills training" and clinical practice, rather than overly relying on laboratory tests. For the reasons mentioned above, the author wrote Differential Diagnosis of Internal Medicine Symptoms, aiming to distinguish different diseases from common or similar symptoms and signs in internal medicine, and to identify different symptoms and signs from the same disease, i.e., "different diseases with the same symptoms" and "the same disease with different symptoms." From the complex clinical manifestations, the author seeks to discern the truth from the illusion, see the essence through the surface, and lay the foundation for obtaining the correct diagnosis. In terms of writing, the author briefly describes the etiology and pathogenesis of each symptom and sign, highlights diagnostic thinking, diagnostic processes, and differential diagnosis, as well as the targeted laboratory or equipment tests needed for confirmation. Summaries are provided in the form of tables or diagrams, making the book clear at a glance, easy to master, and highly practical, serving as a reference for internal medicine doctors, grassroots medical workers, intern doctors, and graduate students. The authors who participated in writing this book include both respected elderly experts and professors, as well as middle-aged and young experts and doctors who are directly involved in clinical work. Especially the latter, have added novelty and vitality to the book.