Can someone explain what "differential diagnosis"means in laymans terms w/out getting all Doogie Houser on me?

Question

What does differential diagnosis, mean?

Answer 1

its the process of weighing the probability of a disease, so simply they have a list of symptoms and a list of things those symptoms could be a cause of they test them all out to figure out what you have
so pretty much, they don't know what you have but they have a few ideas and they're working on it

Answer 2

Differential diagnosis is the list of all the diseases and conditions that a reasonable doctor might think are causing the patient's signs and symptoms. You rank them in order of prevalence based on the person's age and sex, family history and a couple other factors. Then, you go down the list trying to rule in or rule out what is on the list based on your physical exam and special tests. Often, doctors get it wrong the first time. They start treating you for a condition on the list that, while reasonable, is wrong. The treatment doesn't work. That info gets cycled back into evaluating the list, helping the doctor zero in on what it actually is.

Although medical diagnosis is an art, it is also a science. Specific techniques and methods help the doctor find the right diagnosis from the list of differentials and leads to the correct treatment. When done correctly, there is amazing accuracy and consensus with the diagnosis. This, more than any other factor, is the cause of medicine's increasing effectiveness over the last 50 years or so.

Answer 3

Differential diagnosis is when some conditions have similar symptoms. Doctors use it when they're trying to figure out which condition a patient has so they rule out the ones that don't match the symptoms perfectly to end up with the most likely condition being the one that is left.

Answer 4

It means other possible diagnosis with symptoms similar to what you most likely have.

If you have numbness in your hands, you have a strong probability of getting a diagnosis of Carpal Tunnel because the symptoms point to it. However, the numbness could be caused from tendonitis, MS, or a host of other neurological disorders that they would possibly need to rule out first.

DIFFERENTial DIAGNOSIS

Answer 5

"Differential diagnosis (′dif·ə′ren·chəl ′dī·əg′nō·səs)

(medicine) 1. Distinguishing between diseases of similar character by comparing their signs and symptoms."

2. "Determination of which one of two or more diseases with similar symptoms is the one from which the patient is suffering. Also called differentiation."

Answer 6

differential diagnosis is the test results that prove that a diagnosis is accurate.

Like the differential diagnosis for tuberculosis, is positive skin test, positive AFB culture, etc...

Answer 7

differential diagnosis simply means all the other diseases that are being considered that fits your signs and symptoms... these differentials can be ruled out ( excluded ) by running more test...