What are pathognomonic characters?
pathognomonic symptoms are important indicators of the disease that the doctor can use to make a definitive diagnosis. They are so characteristic of specific health conditions that when the doctor sees them, the chances are extremely high, that the patient has a given condition. Not having these symptoms does not necessarily mean that the patient does not have this disease because it does not appear in all cases. Sometimes such indicators may sometimes occur with other conditions, in which case the doctor may have to use differential diagnosis to find out what is happening.
These exceed symptoms, which are disease indicators. Something like a fever is a symptom. This means that the patient is good and that something causes a fever's reaction. However, fever can be observed in a wide range of diseases and usually do not indicate a specific condition. On the other hand, there is a distinctive grinning face cramp for tetanus, also known as LockJaw. Likewise, a rash in the shape of a bull -shaped eye may be considered a pathognomonic sign for Lyme disease.
If the patient displays the pathognomonic symptoms of the disease, the doctor may want to take history and can collect some more information to confirm the diagnosis. In the above example, if the patient represents a face spacding, the physician may check the injury that can cause tetanus. Blood work can also be useful and can help doctors to exclude strychnines, which can also cause face spasm, although it usually causes other muscles in the body to be tense.
Identification of pathognomonic symptoms may be particularly important in highly contagious disease. For example, measles can be easily diagnosed with dome spots, distinctive lesions inside the mouth. If the doctor sees them, the patient may be immediately isolated to prevent transmission. In addition, the doctor may alert parents and care providers, so he can warn people who may have come into contact with the patient. This allows peopleEM quickly respond to the outbreak of measles to limit the spread of the disease.
Medical texts may include discussions, sometimes with illustrations, pathognomonic features. These allow medical staff to learn about what to look for in a quick and definitive diagnosis. The texts can also speak of potential sources of confusion and mixes and ways to avoid them. This reduces the risk of false diagnosis based on incorrect symptoms. Some pathognomonic symptoms are the topics of dispute and doctors can argue whether they are really so characteristic of a particular disease, that they can be used for an authoritative diagnosis.