index of suspicion

Medtalk A phrase broadly used to indicate how seriously a particular disease is being entertained as a diagnosis; as an example, there is a high IOS that rapid and unexplained weight loss in an elderly Pt is due to pancreas CA, and a low IOS that it would be due to AIDS

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A high index of suspicion is necessary when treating nasal tumors.

Endoscopic view of sinonasal cancer 6 years post-treatment

"You need to have a high index of suspicion for anxiety and depression, particularly in patients who call frequently," Dr.

Treating 'invisible' symptoms may be beneficial in Parkinson's

A low index of suspicion by physicians or failure to notify the laboratory, equivocal Gram-stain results, misidentification of the organism by commercial systems, unsafe laboratory practices, and laboratory accidents have been responsible for numerous cases of exposure to the organism and laboratory-acquired disease in recent years.

Laboratory exposures to brucellae and implications for bioterrorism

Physicians "must develop a high index of suspicion for melanoma in the black population and fully evaluate any suspected lesion," said Dr.

Dark-skinned patients still at risk for skin ca

This complacency only increases the opportunities for malfeasance--physicians need to have a higher index of suspicion as we go through change, rather than the lower index that we are commonly encountering.

What physician executives need to know

Signs and symptoms may develop insidiously and can be nonspecific, requiring a high index of suspicion. Hyponatremia unassociated with hypovolemia and unresponsive to fluid restriction but resolves with physiologic corticosteroid replacement with low or normal serum potassium can be the indicator of pituitary failure.

Isolated secondary Hypogonadism presenting with severe Hyponatremia and central Diabetes Insipidus: a case report

It is essential for doctors to expand their index of suspicion, and order appropriate investigations, as it can easily be detected by microscopy, MRI, CT scan or a spinal tap.

The paradox of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis - a rare disease, but commonly misdiagnosed

Ocular injuries with sharp objects should carry a high index of suspicion that the globe might be penetrated.

Severe bilateral vision loss due to a unilateral penetrating injury by sympathetic ophthalmitis

A high index of suspicion for melanoma should exist with lesions that begin under the nail and extend outward onto healthy skin around the nail (Hutchinson's sign), if there is variability in the pigmentation of the band, if the pigmented band is widening or growing, or if there is bleeding or signs of ulceration, Dr.

Unexplained changes in nail warrant biopsy

"The clinical implication is that we need to maintain a high index of suspicion for signs and symptoms of heart failure, order appropriate work-up, and consider cardiovascular referral and/or therapies," he said in an interview.

Subtle heart failure signs increase RA mortality risk

But they have raised the index of suspicion in the clinical setting, as a PCR-positive result may confound the diagnosis of cough illness in patients who have had a pertussis infection in the prior 6 months, but are not currently infected, Dr.

PCR testing for pertussis may be too sensitive

A careful history and a high index of suspicion are more important to the diagnosis.

An impacted fish bone in the subglottis manifesting as protracted stridor: photodocumentation