Differential diagnosis allows the physician to
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More clearly understand the condition or circumstance
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Assess reasonable prognosis
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Eliminate any imminently life-threatening conditions
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Plan treatment or intervention for the condition or circumstance
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Enable the patient and the family to integrate the condition or circumstance into their lives, until the condition or circumstance may be ameliorated, if possible.
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If the patient's condition does not improve as anticipated when the treatment or therapy for the disease or disorder has been applied, the diagnosis must be reassessed.
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The method of differential diagnosis is based on the idea that one begins by first considering the most common diagnosis first: a head cold versus meningitis, for example. As a reminder, medical students are taught the adage, "When you hear hoofbeats, don't look for zebras," which means look for the simplest, most common explanation first. Only after the simplest diagnosis has been ruled out should the clinician consider more complex or exotic diagnoses.
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At one time doctors ordered only particular blood tests, but now a full blood chemistry profile is standard, which can speed up the process of diagnosis as well as uncover sub-clinical conditions.
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With the advent of better radiological studies like MRI and the wider use of nuclear medicine, it has become more likely that unexpected findings will emerge and will be further studied, though such findings may not be supported by further investigation.
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Such findings are a valuable tool but not infallible; often it still takes a veterinary physician or veterinary medical team to track down either a more common illness with a rare presentation or a rare illness with symptoms suggestive of many other conditions. Sometimes a definitive diagnosis might take years.
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