Algorithms in Differential Diagnosis: How to Approach Common Presenting Complaints in Adult Patients, for Medical Students and Junior Doctors

This is a book for medical students and first-year doctors who wish to learn how to approach a patient's symptoms, and sharpen their skills of clinical reasoning and diagnosis.

Fifty-four presenting symptoms are discussed, covering approaches and conditions across various medical and surgical disciplines. Each chapter sets out the thought process behind history, examination, and investigations for a symptom, providing a systematic and practical algorithm to distinguish one differential from another. The reader will gain not only a functional approach to patients' presenting complaints, but also learn how to better organize and apply medical knowledge in diagnostic reasoning.

Errata(s)
Errata (882 KB)

Sample Chapter(s)
Preface
Chapter 1: Learning How to Diagnose

• Introduction
• Heart and Lungs
• Gut and Abdomen
• Kidneys and Urinary Tract
• Brain, Nerves and Senses
• Blood
• Endocrine and General Physiological Disturbances
• Skin and Subcutaneous Tissues
• Joints and Muscles
• Female Genital Tract

Readership: Medical students and first-year doctors.