differential diagnosis
"Differential diagnosis" is a crucial process in medical practice used to identify the specific cause of a patient's symptoms from among several possible conditions.
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Definition
C1Clinical Practice
(technical)The method used by healthcare providers to distinguish a specific disease from others with similar symptoms.
Example
- The doctor performed a differential diagnosis to determine if the patient had pneumonia or bronchitis.
C1Diagnostic Procedure
(technical)A systematic approach to identify the cause of symptoms by ruling out multiple potential conditions.
Example
- Through differential diagnosis, the specialist was able to pinpoint the exact cause of the abdominal pain.