Clinical Investigations at a Glance

Clinical Investigations at a Glance provides an up-to-date, evidence-based overview of diagnostic investigations, looking at their choice, importance and interpretation for commonly presenting symptoms and conditions.

Designed to help develop the evidence-based use of investigations and interpret results properly, the book provides a unique perspective on many critical issues in medical testing, with the aim of improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing unnecessary tests or harm.

Clinical Investigations at a Glance is structured in three parts: an overview of tests; common presentations (such as chest pain, nausea and vomiting, weight loss and anaemia,); and conditions organized by body system, such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and nephrology.

Key features include:
• How to interpret investigations, using high quality illustrations to compare ‘normal’ and ‘diseased’ results
• Evidence-based, including references
• How to select the most appropriate investigation, the accuracy of tests and how to manage incidental findings

Contents
Preface

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Part 1:  Overview of tests

1. Investigations and interpreting tests

2. Screening tests

3. Consent for investigations

4. Risks of tests

5. Genetic tests

6. Principles of radiological investigations

7. Cytology and histopathology tests

8. Presenting at radiology and histopathology meetings

9. Requesting tests

10. Therapeutic drug monitoring

11. Investigations in resource-limited settings

12. Tests for outpatient, inpatient and patients in intensive care

Part 2:  Common Presentations

13. Chest pain

14. Acute abdominal pain

15. Headache

16. Nausea and vomiting

17. Diarrhoea

18. Constipation

19. Haematemesis and melena

20. Rectal bleeding 

21. Dyspepsia

22. Dysphagia

23. Weight loss

24. Obesity

25. Fatigue

26. Coma and impaired consciousness

27. Preoperative investigations for elective surgery

28. Syncope

29. Back pain

30. Peripheral oedema

31. Jaundice

32. Meningitis

33. Anaemia

34. Lymphadenopathy

35. Cough

36. Haemoptysis

37. Palpitations and cardiac arrhythmias

38. Red eye

39. Vertigo

40. Urinary tract infection

41. Haematuria

42. Attempted suicide and self-poisoning

43. Immunosuppressed patients

44. Diagnosing death

45. Shock

46. Trauma

47. Alcohol-use disorder

48. Eating disorders

49. Seizure

50. Muscle weakness

51. Visual loss

52. Hearing loss

Part 3:  Conditions Cardiovascular disease

53. Heart failure

54. Peripheral arterial disease

55. Infective endocarditis

56. Aortic disease

57. Hypertension

58. Hyperlipidaemia

Respiratory disease and sleep disorders

59. Pneumonia

60. Asthma

61. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

62. Pleural effusion

63. Pneumothorax

64. Pulmonary embolism

65.Pulmonary hypertension

66. Pulmonary nodules

67. Interstitial lung disease

68. Sleep disorders

Gastroenterology and hepatology

69. Ascites

70. Intestinal obstruction

71. Malabsorption

72. Inflammatory bowel disease

73. Irritable bowel syndrome

74. Colorectal cancer

75. Liver mass

76. Cirrhosis

77. Liver function tests

78. Acute pancreatitis

Nephrology and urology

79. Acute kidney injury

80. Chronic kidney disease

81. Metabolic acid-base disorders

82. Potassium disorders

83. Sodium disorders

84. Calcium disorders

85. Proteinuria

86. Renal mass

87. Kidney stones

88. Renal artery stenosis

Endocrinology

89. Diabetes mellitus: diagnosis

90. Diabetes mellitus: complications

91. Diabetes insipidus

92. Thyroid disorders

93. Thryoid function tests

Pituitary disorders

94. Hypopituitarism

95. Acromegaly

96. Hyperprolactinaemia

Adrenal disorders

97. Adrenal insufficiency

98. Adrenal incidentaloma

99. Cushing’s syndrome

100. Phaeochromocytoma

101. Primary hyperaldosteronism

Reproductive and obstetric medicine

102. Male hypogonadism

103. Infertility

104. Erectile dysfunction

105. Amenorrhoea

106. Hirsutism

107. Polycystic ovarian syndrome

108. Pre-eclampsia and hypertensive disorders in pregnancy

109. Pregnancy

Infectious Diseases

110. Pyrexia of unknown origin

111. Leucopenia and febrile neutropenia

112. Illness in returned travellers

113. Sepsis

114. Sepsis: testing for infectious diseases

115. Osteomyelitis

116. Sexually transmitted diseases

117. Tuberculosis

118. HIV

Haematology

119. Leucocytosis

120. Myelodysplastic syndromes

121. Erythrocytosis

122. Haemolytic anaemia

123. Leukaemia

124. Lymphoma

125. Multiple myeloma

126. Platelet disorders

127. Bleeding disorders

128. Thrombophilia

Oncology

129. Breast cancer

130. Spinal cord compression

131. Cancer of unknown primary

132. Tumour markers

133. Ovarian cancer

134. Prostate cancer

Neurology

135. Stroke

136. Haemorrhagic stroke

137. Brain abscess

138. Encephalitis

139. Brain tumours

140. Multiple sclerosis

141. Spinal cord disorders

142. Peripheral neuropathy

143. Movement disorders

Rheumatology

144. Septic and crystal arthropathies

145. Osteoarthritis

146. Spondyloarthropathies

147. Rheumatoid arthritis

148. Systemic lupus erythematosus

149. Scleroderma and Raynaud’s phenomenon

150. Sjögren’s syndrome

151. Vasculitis

152. Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis

153. Osteoporosis

Geriatric and General Medicine

154. Dementia

155. Delirium

156. Falls

157. Urinary incontinence

Clinical Immunology and Allergy

158. Allergy and anaphylaxis

159. Primary immunodeficiency disorders

Dermatology

160. Skin cancers

161. Skin rashes

162. Urticaria and angioedema

References

Index