Pocketbook of Differential Diagnosis E-Book

Book excerpt: This handy guide is packed full of information to support medical students, junior doctors and other health professionals in making an accurate diagnosis in relation to different presenting complaints. Now in its fifth edition, the Pocketbook takes the reader through the key steps of narrowing a differential diagnosis, including history, examination and investigation findings. It has been fully updated to cover the full range of common presenting problems facing clinicians today. This book is easy-to-read and logical, making it useful for all clinicians within a variety of settings, from the classroom to emergency department and primary care. Traffic light system to allow consideration of common before rarer diagnoses Hazard symbols to highlight diagnoses that may need rapid assessment and management Summary boxes, with a focus on malignancy red flag symptoms Updated terminology and investigations This Fifth Edition covers 125 common presenting problems in both medicine and surgery in a consistent format. Each topic includes a list of all potential causes of the condition, colour coded to indicate common, occasional or rare causes. Important geographical variations are also highlighted. Two sections cover the differential diagnosis of biochemical and haematological disorders which provide a ready check when reviewing abnormal results The text includes a targeted guide to the relevant general and specific follow-up investigations which should be carried out as appropriate. Each topic ends with a box highlighting important learning points, or indicating symptom and signs suggestive of significant pathology which require urgent action. A new authorial team have thoroughly revised the contents and ensured the coverage is entirely appropriate for the book’s readership.