A high
index of suspicion is necessary when treating nasal tumors.
"You need to have a high
index of suspicion for anxiety and depression, particularly in patients who call frequently," Dr.
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.
Physicians "must develop a high
index of suspicion for melanoma in the black population and fully evaluate any suspected lesion," said Dr.
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.
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.
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.
Ocular injuries with sharp objects should carry a high
index of suspicion that the globe might be penetrated.
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.
"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.
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.
A careful history and a high
index of suspicion are more important to the diagnosis.