what does differential diagnosis means?

Answer 1

differential diagnosis are just all other possible diagnosis(conditions/diseases) that the doctor is considering for a particular patient. simply explained eh?

Answer 2

When a patient has certain signs and symptoms, the doctor examines the patient and then comes up with all the different diagnoses that could be causing the patient's problems. that's what a "differential diagnosis' is.

For example- if you had "ear pain" it could be caused by an inner ear infection (otitis media) or an outer ear infection (otits externa)- this is the "differential diagnsosis".

I'm somewhat suprised that your Dr. used this term-- since most pt's want to know what they most likely have, not all the possible diseases they could have..

If after doing more testing trying to narrow down the "differential"- and the Dr. still isn't sure what it could be, then either they will treat for the most common cause (and see if the pt gets better) or you can be sent to a "specialist' for further testing".

Hope this explains the term.

Answer 3

It is a doctor's way of organizing his or her thinking. The list should be the most likely diagnoses given the information gained from: history of present illness, review of systems, physical examination and subsequent lab or radiology tests.

The first ones on the list should be the most likely, with those lower on the list still possibilities. As more information is gained, the order of the list may change somewhat.

It helps a doctor keep from "torpedoing" in on one diagnosis to the exclusion of other possibilities.