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Errors in diagnosis

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Six common errors in the diagnostic process are:

1. Fixation on a hypothesis 2. Stop looking 3. Rule-out syndrome 4. Making very unlikely hypotheses 5. Retaining unsustainable hypotheses 6. Making unsupportable hypotheses

Keep asking 'Does a particular hypothesis remains credible in the given circumstances?' and 'What else could it be?'. If in doubt, discuss the case with colleagues.

ref: B Joorabchi quoted by Robin C Fraser in Clinical Method: a general practice approach 2e 1992 Butterworth Heinemann


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