Today's NYT: Think Like a Doctor - Ordering the Right Test

[derrie]

Today's New York Times online has a very interesting feature. A case history of a young woman presenting with a decade of chronic pain is given. When she was seen by a specialist, a single test provided the essential clue to her diagnosis.

Today, commenters can suggest tests and a potential diagnosis. Tomorrow, the patient's eventual diagnosis will be posted. It is an interesting read about the hunt for diagnostic zebras, and I think I lot of us here can relate.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/1...he-right-test/

[cosake]

That is pretty neat - but the comments are laborious to get through because people didn't read the letter, or the previous comments to see what tests she had already been given, etc.

I look forward to seeing what the diagnosis was.

Thanks !

[dlb61]

I'm looking forward to reading the second half. I even wrote a note to myself so I won't forget. Really enjoy getting directed to somewhere on the internet that I never would have thought to check out.

[maitrimama]

Luck of the Draw

This past summer my 15 year old daughter began having stomach pains/cramps and diarreha. She never complains so we brought her to the pediatrician. Her symptoms were classic though not severe. The doctor ordered a bunch of bloodwork and stool testing. Before you know it we were at a children's hospital for more testing, endo/colonoscopy. In ~6 weeks we had a diagnosis because our pediatrician ordered the right tests at the start. She has Celiac's and IBD (not sure if it's Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis) but she is getting better not worse. The autoimmune diseases can be very tricky to diagnose and in the beginning it really is the luck of the draw.

[derrie]

Today, the diagnosis is posted:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/1...t-test-solved/

(Maitrimama, you may find it particularly interesting.)

[rsb]

This article was also interesting to me, as I have unilateral weakness and paresthesias. I do have celiac, and it's interesting that a lot of the doctors who commented on the article said, 'hey, what about her unilateral weakness??'.

I do think the patient will end up having *something* else diagnosed eventually.