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The Medical Clinics of North America Mar 2019Alzheimer's disease (AD) care requires timely diagnosis and multidisciplinary management. Evaluation involves structured patient and caregiver history and... (Review)
Review
Alzheimer's disease (AD) care requires timely diagnosis and multidisciplinary management. Evaluation involves structured patient and caregiver history and symptom-function reviews, examination, and testing (laboratory and neuroimaging) to delineate impairment level, determine the cognitive-behavioral syndrome, and diagnose cause. Clinical biomarkers are available to aid high confidence in etiologic diagnosis. Management uses psychoeducation, shared goal setting, and patient-caregiver dyad decision making. When combined, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapies mitigate symptoms and reduce clinical progression and care burden. AD biopathologic processes develop over decades before symptoms manifest; this period is increasingly targeted in research as an opportunity to best delay or prevent AD dementia.
Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Biomarkers; Diagnosis, Differential; Disease Progression; Humans; Neuroimaging; Parkinson Disease
PubMed: 30704681
DOI: 10.1016/j.mcna.2018.10.009 -
American Family Physician May 2020Dyspnea is a symptom arising from a complex interplay of diseases and physiologic states and is commonly encountered in primary care. It is considered chronic if present... (Review)
Review
Dyspnea is a symptom arising from a complex interplay of diseases and physiologic states and is commonly encountered in primary care. It is considered chronic if present for more than one month. As a symptom, dyspnea is a predictor for all-cause mortality. The likeliest causes of dyspnea are disease states involving the cardiac or pulmonary systems such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, pneumonia, and coronary artery disease. A detailed history and physical examination should begin the workup; results should drive testing. Approaching testing in stages beginning with first-line tests, including a complete blood count, basic chemistry panel, electrocardiography, chest radiography, spirometry, and pulse oximetry, is recommended. If no cause is identified, second-line noninvasive testing such as echocardiography, cardiac stress tests, pulmonary function tests, and computed tomography scan of the lungs is suggested. Final options include more invasive tests that should be done in collaboration with specialty help. There are three main treatment and management goals: correctly identify the underlying disease process and treat appropriately, optimize recovery, and improve the dyspnea symptoms. The six-minute walk test can be helpful in measuring the effect of ongoing intervention. Care of patients with chronic dyspnea typically requires a multidisciplinary approach, which makes the primary care physician ideal for management.
Topics: Diagnosis, Differential; Dyspnea; Echocardiography; Exercise Test; Humans; Medical History Taking; Physical Examination; Primary Health Care; Respiratory Function Tests
PubMed: 32352727
DOI: No ID Found -
American Family Physician Jul 2020Back pain is a relatively common presenting symptom in children and adolescents. Typical causes include muscle strain or spasm, spinal deformities (e.g., Scheuermann...
Back pain is a relatively common presenting symptom in children and adolescents. Typical causes include muscle strain or spasm, spinal deformities (e.g., Scheuermann kyphosis, adolescent idiopathic scoliosis), spondylolysis, bulging or herniated intervertebral disks, apophysitis of the iliac crest, and functional pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia. Spondyloarthropathies such as ankylosing spondylitis may present with low back pain and stiffness, which are often worse in the morning. Less common but more serious causes include malignancy and infections. The physical examination should include postural inspection, evaluation for tenderness, range of motion, strength testing, and testing for fractures and nerve impingement. Treatment for patients with muscle strain include relative rest, home-based exercises, physical therapy, and limited use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. If findings from the history and physical examination suggest underlying pathology, radiography and laboratory studies are indicated initially; magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, or a bone scan may be needed for further evaluation. It is generally accepted that the following factors warrant immediate evaluation: patient age younger than five years, symptoms persisting beyond four weeks, systemic symptoms, nighttime pain, bowel incontinence/urinary retention, or other neurologic symptoms.
Topics: Adolescent; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; Back Pain; Child; Diagnosis, Differential; Exercise Therapy; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical History Taking; Neurologic Examination; Pediatrics; Physical Examination; Risk Assessment; Symptom Assessment; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 32603067
DOI: No ID Found -
Revista de Gastroenterologia de Mexico... 2020Lactose intolerance is a condition with an elevated prevalence worldwide, especially in Latin American, Asian, and African countries. The aim of the present narrative... (Review)
Review
Lactose intolerance is a condition with an elevated prevalence worldwide, especially in Latin American, Asian, and African countries. The aim of the present narrative review was to highlight the importance of accurately diagnosing lactose intolerance to prevent self-diagnosis that results in the unnecessary elimination of milk and dairy products from the diet and the consequent deprivation of nutrients that could be essential at certain stages of life. The pathophysiologic mechanism of deficient lactose absorption in the intestine can be primary, secondary to other enteropathies, or coexistent with other intestinal diseases with similar symptoms, such as irritable bowel syndrome, bacterial overgrowth syndrome, or celiac disease, causing confusion in relation to diagnosis and treatment. Lactose intolerance consists of a set of symptoms attributed to the consumption of milk and dairy products that are assumed to be due to deficient digestion of that disaccharide. A wide range of tests have been validated to detect deficient digestion that include blood tests, genetic mutation analyses, breath tests, and recently, a urine test, all of which are described in the present article. Nevertheless, there are few validated questionnaires for symptom evaluation and measurement, partly due to the heterogeneity of concepts and the subjectivity of each of the symptoms.
Topics: Algorithms; Humans; Lactose Intolerance; Symptom Assessment
PubMed: 32482516
DOI: 10.1016/j.rgmx.2020.03.002 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Jan 2015Early and accurate diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia may have long-term advantages for the patient; the longer psychosis goes untreated the more severe the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Early and accurate diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia may have long-term advantages for the patient; the longer psychosis goes untreated the more severe the repercussions for relapse and recovery. If the correct diagnosis is not schizophrenia, but another psychotic disorder with some symptoms similar to schizophrenia, appropriate treatment might be delayed, with possible severe repercussions for the person involved and their family. There is widespread uncertainty about the diagnostic accuracy of First Rank Symptoms (FRS); we examined whether they are a useful diagnostic tool to differentiate schizophrenia from other psychotic disorders.
OBJECTIVES
To determine the diagnostic accuracy of one or multiple FRS for diagnosing schizophrenia, verified by clinical history and examination by a qualified professional (e.g. psychiatrists, nurses, social workers), with or without the use of operational criteria and checklists, in people thought to have non-organic psychotic symptoms.
SEARCH METHODS
We conducted searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycInfo using OvidSP in April, June, July 2011 and December 2012. We also searched MEDION in December 2013.
SELECTION CRITERIA
We selected studies that consecutively enrolled or randomly selected adults and adolescents with symptoms of psychosis, and assessed the diagnostic accuracy of FRS for schizophrenia compared to history and clinical examination performed by a qualified professional, which may or may not involve the use of symptom checklists or based on operational criteria such as ICD and DSM.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently screened all references for inclusion. Risk of bias in included studies were assessed using the QUADAS-2 instrument. We recorded the number of true positives (TP), true negatives (TN), false positives (FP), and false negatives (FN) for constructing a 2 x 2 table for each study or derived 2 x 2 data from reported summary statistics such as sensitivity, specificity, and/or likelihood ratios.
MAIN RESULTS
We included 21 studies with a total of 6253 participants (5515 were included in the analysis). Studies were conducted from 1974 to 2011, with 80% of the studies conducted in the 1970's, 1980's or 1990's. Most studies did not report study methods sufficiently and many had high applicability concerns. In 20 studies, FRS differentiated schizophrenia from all other diagnoses with a sensitivity of 57% (50.4% to 63.3%), and a specificity of 81.4% (74% to 87.1%) In seven studies, FRS differentiated schizophrenia from non-psychotic mental health disorders with a sensitivity of 61.8% (51.7% to 71%) and a specificity of 94.1% (88% to 97.2%). In sixteen studies, FRS differentiated schizophrenia from other types of psychosis with a sensitivity of 58% (50.3% to 65.3%) and a specificity of 74.7% (65.2% to 82.3%).
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
The synthesis of old studies of limited quality in this review indicates that FRS correctly identifies people with schizophrenia 75% to 95% of the time. The use of FRS to diagnose schizophrenia in triage will incorrectly diagnose around five to 19 people in every 100 who have FRS as having schizophrenia and specialists will not agree with this diagnosis. These people will still merit specialist assessment and help due to the severity of disturbance in their behaviour and mental state. Again, with a sensitivity of FRS of 60%, reliance on FRS to diagnose schizophrenia in triage will not correctly diagnose around 40% of people that specialists will consider to have schizophrenia. Some of these people may experience a delay in getting appropriate treatment. Others, whom specialists will consider to have schizophrenia, could be prematurely discharged from care, if triage relies on the presence of FRS to diagnose schizophrenia. Empathetic, considerate use of FRS as a diagnostic aid - with known limitations - should avoid a good proportion of these errors.We hope that newer tests - to be included in future Cochrane reviews - will show better results. However, symptoms of first rank can still be helpful where newer tests are not available - a situation which applies to the initial screening of most people with suspected schizophrenia. FRS remain a simple, quick and useful clinical indicator for an illness of enormous clinical variability.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Diagnosis, Differential; Early Diagnosis; Humans; Mental Disorders; Prospective Studies; Psychotic Disorders; Retrospective Studies; Schizophrenia; Sensitivity and Specificity; Symptom Assessment
PubMed: 25879096
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD010653.pub2 -
The Lancet. Oncology Jan 2020Early diagnosis interventions such as symptom awareness campaigns increasingly form part of global cancer control strategies. However, these strategies will have little...
BACKGROUND
Early diagnosis interventions such as symptom awareness campaigns increasingly form part of global cancer control strategies. However, these strategies will have little impact in improving cancer outcomes if the targeted symptoms represent advanced stage of disease. Therefore, we aimed to examine associations between common presenting symptoms of cancer and stage at diagnosis.
METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, we analysed population-level data from the English National Cancer Diagnosis Audit 2014 for patients aged 25 years and older with one of 12 types of solid tumours (bladder, breast, colon, endometrial, laryngeal, lung, melanoma, oral or oropharyngeal, ovarian, prostate, rectal, and renal cancer). We considered 20 common presenting symptoms and examined their associations with stage at diagnosis (TNM stage IV vs stage I-III) using logistic regression. For each symptom, we estimated these associations when reported as a single presenting symptom and when reported together with other symptoms.
FINDINGS
We analysed data for 7997 patients. The proportion of patients diagnosed with stage IV cancer varied substantially by presenting symptom, from 1% (95% CI 1-3; eight of 584 patients) for abnormal mole to 80% (71-87; 84 of 105 patients) for neck lump. Three of the examined symptoms (neck lump, chest pain, and back pain) were consistently associated with increased odds of stage IV cancer, whether reported alone or with other symptoms, whereas the opposite was true for abnormal mole, breast lump, postmenopausal bleeding, and rectal bleeding. For 13 of the 20 symptoms (abnormal mole, breast lump, post-menopausal bleeding, rectal bleeding, lower urinary tract symptoms, haematuria, change in bowel habit, hoarseness, fatigue, abdominal pain, lower abdominal pain, weight loss, and the "any other symptom" category), more than 50% of patients were diagnosed at stages other than stage IV; for 19 of the 20 studied symptoms (all except for neck lump), more than a third of patients were diagnosed at stages other than stage IV.
INTERPRETATION
Despite specific presenting symptoms being more strongly associated with advanced stage at diagnosis than others, for most symptoms, large proportions of patients are diagnosed at stages other than stage IV. These findings provide support for early diagnosis interventions targeting common cancer symptoms, countering concerns that they might be simply expediting the detection of advanced stage disease.
FUNDING
UK Department of Health's Policy Research Unit in Cancer Awareness, Screening and Early Diagnosis; and Cancer Research UK.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Sectional Studies; Early Detection of Cancer; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Neoplasms; Severity of Illness Index; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 31704137
DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(19)30595-9 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2020The aim of this review is to summarize that most relevant technologies used to evaluate gait features and the associated algorithms that have shown promise to aid... (Review)
Review
The aim of this review is to summarize that most relevant technologies used to evaluate gait features and the associated algorithms that have shown promise to aid diagnosis and symptom monitoring in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. We searched PubMed for studies published between 1 January 2005, and 30 August 2019 on gait analysis in PD. We selected studies that have either used technologies to distinguish PD patients from healthy subjects or stratified PD patients according to motor status or disease stages. Only those studies that reported at least 80% sensitivity and specificity were included. Gait analysis algorithms used for diagnosis showed a balanced accuracy range of 83.5-100%, sensitivity of 83.3-100% and specificity of 82-100%. For motor status discrimination the gait analysis algorithms showed a balanced accuracy range of 90.8-100%, sensitivity of 92.5-100% and specificity of 88-100%. Despite a large number of studies on the topic of objective gait analysis in PD, only a limited number of studies reported algorithms that were accurate enough deemed to be useful for diagnosis and symptoms monitoring. In addition, none of the reported algorithms and technologies has been validated in large scale, independent studies.
Topics: Algorithms; Gait; Gait Analysis; Humans; Parkinson Disease; Sensitivity and Specificity
PubMed: 32580330
DOI: 10.3390/s20123529 -
Missouri Medicine 2018A complaint of dysphagia suggests difficulty in swallowing and is characterized based on the symptoms and location of pathology. Oropharyngeal dysphagia is typically due... (Review)
Review
A complaint of dysphagia suggests difficulty in swallowing and is characterized based on the symptoms and location of pathology. Oropharyngeal dysphagia is typically due to difficulty initiating a swallow and is generally due to structural, anatomic or neuromuscular abnormalities. Esophageal dysphagia arises after the swallow and causes include intrinsic structural pathology, extrinsic compression, or disruption in normal motility. Etiologies, methods of evaluation, and management options of dysphagia are reviewed here.
Topics: Deglutition; Deglutition Disorders; Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Symptom Assessment
PubMed: 30228723
DOI: No ID Found -
Autism : the International Journal of... Feb 2021The emergence of autism symptoms in childhood is variable, with some children showing signs of autism spectrum disorder very early, and others not being identified until...
The emergence of autism symptoms in childhood is variable, with some children showing signs of autism spectrum disorder very early, and others not being identified until much later. Although most children in the United States are not diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder until preschool, at ages 3-4 years, symptoms can be reliably detected at 14 months. It is less certain how those toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder earlier versus later differ from each other clinically. This study revealed that young children diagnosed later in development, between ages 25 and 41 months, are more impaired on measures of cognitive, adaptive, and social functioning than their counterparts who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder earlier. All young children with autism spectrum disorder are impaired in communication to a similar degree, however. Universal autism screening at 18 months may identify toddlers with autism spectrum disorder when their symptoms are milder and more readily amenable to intervention. Repeated screening at 24 months is supported to detect those children missed by an earlier screening, who may be more severely affected. Caregivers should be encouraged to pursue diagnostic evaluation at an initial positive screening result to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment.
Topics: Adult; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autistic Disorder; Child, Preschool; Communication; Delayed Diagnosis; Early Diagnosis; Humans; Mass Screening
PubMed: 32981352
DOI: 10.1177/1362361320959507 -
Seminars in Oncology Nursing Nov 2016To discuss the importance of cancer symptom clusters in clinical practice, review evidence for symptom cluster interventions, and make recommendations for symptom... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
To discuss the importance of cancer symptom clusters in clinical practice, review evidence for symptom cluster interventions, and make recommendations for symptom cluster identification, patient education, and management in clinical practice.
DATA SOURCES
Primary research and review articles identified through CINAHL, PubMed, and PsycINFO databases.
CONCLUSION
Several studies have investigated interventions for multi-symptom management or have evaluated the secondary effects of a single-symptom intervention on related symptoms. To date, only five studies have tested an intervention designed to manage a specific cancer symptom cluster. Those studies used nonpharmacologic approaches (psycho-education, cognitive-behavioral strategies, and acupressure) to address the pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance symptom cluster, or the respiratory distress symptom cluster with some initial evidence of success. Further development and efficacy testing of symptom cluster interventions is needed.
IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE
Clinical practice can be guided by knowledge of individual and multi-symptom management, and clinical judgment regarding possible etiologies of cancer symptom clusters. Clinicians should be aware of co-occurring symptoms in their patients, educate and involve patients in identifying symptom clusters and aggravating/alleviating factors, and coordinate treatment recommendations using strategies that are likely to be beneficial across symptoms.
Topics: Fatigue; Humans; Neoplasms; Pain; Sleep Wake Disorders; Symptom Assessment; Syndrome
PubMed: 27789073
DOI: 10.1016/j.soncn.2016.08.004