The diagnosis of transient ischemic attack (TIA) can be notoriously difficult, mainly because it is often solely based on history taking. Patients suspected of a TIA require an urgent assessment with timely start of antithrombotic therapy to reduce the risk of an early ischemic stroke. Continue reading
DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for Dyspraxia/Developmental Coordination Disorder
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is often characterized as a skill acquisition deficit disorder. Continue reading
2012 Revised International Chapel Hill Consensus Conference Nomenclature of Vasculitides
Chapel Hill Consensus Conference (CHCC) is a nomenclature system (nosology). It is neither a classification system that specifies what findings must be observed in a specific patient to classify that patient for clinical research nor a diagnostic system that directs clinical management. Continue reading
The Gell-Coombs Classification of Hypersensitivity Reactions
The original Gell and Coomb’s classification categorizes hypersensitivity reactions into four subtypes according to the type of immune response and the effector mechanism responsible for cell and tissue injury: type I, immediate or IgE mediated; type II, cytotoxic or IgG/IgM mediated; type III, IgG/IgM immune complex mediated; and type IV, delayed-type hypersensitivity or T-cell mediated. Continue reading
Edmonton Obesity Staging System (EOSS)
The Edmonton Obesity Staging System (EOSS) is a novel risk-stratification system that classifies obese individuals into 5 graded categories, based on their morbidity and health-risk profile. Continue reading
Saint Elian Wound Score System for Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Foot ulcerations are among the most complex and heterogeneous complications in patients with diabetes. Skin ulcers need to be managed in different ways dependent on their etiology and pathogenesis.
The 10 Saint Elian Wound Score System (SEWSS) categories is helpful in guiding treatment decisions based on severity subcategories.
Classification of Caustic-Induced Gastrointestinal Injuries
Caustic substances injure tissue by means of a chemical reaction on direct physical contact. Often thought of as acids or bases, caustics broadly include desiccants, vesicants, and protoplasmic poisons. The term “corrosive” is often used interchangeably with “caustic,” but corrosion implies a mechanical degradation, which does not always apply to caustics. Continue reading
Testing to Diagnose Hormone-Secreting Pituitary Tumors
Pituitary adenomas account for approximately 15% of intracranial tumors. Management of these benign tumors requires diagnosis of the specific intrasellar disease and comprehensive, multidisciplinary treatment of local mass effects and peripheral endocrinopathies. Since tumors can produce different hormones, their consequences and management vary widely. Continue reading
Diagnosis of Hereditary Angioedema (HAE)
Angioedema, also known as Quincke edema or “angioneurotic edema”, is defined as the localized nonpitting edema of deep dermal, subcutaneous, or submucosal tissues resulting from the increase in vascular permeability and extravasation of intravascular fluids; although it can coincide with urticaria in a histamine-mediated process, a differentiating feature is that urticarial wheals are limited to the mid and papillary dermis. Continue reading
Diagnostic Criteria for Chronic Rhinosinusitis (CRS)
Chronic rhinosinusitis is defined by the presence of at least two out of four cardinal symptoms (i.e., facial pain/pressure, hyposmia/anosmia, nasal drainage, and nasal obstruction) for at least 12 consecutive weeks, in addition to objective evidence. Objective evidence of chronic rhinosinusitis may be obtained on physical examination (anterior rhinoscopy, endoscopy) or radiography, preferably from sinus computed tomography. Continue reading