Grading and staging refers to a semiquantitative assessment of the necroinflammatory activity (grade) and degree of fibrosis (stage) in relation to chronic hepatitis.
Criteria
Diagnostic Criteria of Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF)
The diagnosis of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is based upon three factors: typical clinical manifestations, a positive response to colchicine therapy, and genetic testing, although currently available tests do not detect all mutations associated with FMF.
Alvarado Score for Acute Appendicitis
The use of the Alvarado scoring system, which includes clinical examination findings and laboratory values, is helpful in ruling out appendicitis. Scores range from 1 to 10, with higher scores indicating a greater risk of appendicitis. When the score is less than 4, appendicitis is uncommon, and imaging and other interventions can be avoided.
Diagnosis of Inflammatory Myopathies
The diagnosis of the exact subtype of inflammatory myopathy is based on the combination of clinical history, tempo of disease progression, pattern of muscle involvement, muscle enzyme levels, electromyographic findings, muscle-biopsy analysis, and for some conditions, the presence of certain autoantibodies.
Tumor Markers in Clinical Practice
Tumor markers are playing an increasingly important role in cancer detection and management. These laboratory-based tests are potentially useful in screening for early malignancy, aiding cancer diagnosis, determining prognosis, surveillance following curative surgery for cancer, up front predicting drug response or resistance, and monitoring therapy in advanced disease.
Diagnostic Criteria for Multiple-System Atrophy (MSA)
Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a sporadic and fatal alpha-synuclein-linked oligodendrogliopathy manifesting with progressive autonomic failure, poorly levodopa-responsive parkinsonism, and cerebellar ataxia, in any combination.
Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Prolonged Grief Disorder
The death of a loved one is one of life’s greatest, universal stressors to which most bereaved individuals successfully adapt without clinical intervention. For a minority of bereaved individuals, grief is complicated by superimposed problems and healing does not occur. The resulting syndrome of complicated grief causes substantial distress and functional impairment even years after a loss, yet knowing when and how to intervene can be a challenge.
Diagnosis of Autoreactive Pericarditis
Recently, the term “autoreactive pericarditis” has been introduced to describe patients with identification of elements indicative of an autoimmune response who would otherwise be classed as idiopathic.
DSM-5 Criteria for Withdrawal Delirium (Delirium Tremens)
The criteria for withdrawal delirium, are delirium (a rapid-onset fluctuating disturbance of attention and cognition, sometimes with hallucinations) plus alcohol withdrawal.
Staging and Risk Stratification of Germ-Cell Tumors
Germ cell tumours of the testis are the commonest malignancy in men aged 20-40 years. Considerable therapeutic improvements in management—based on the cancer’s responsiveness to chemotherapy that contains platinum—mean that over 95% of these patients can now expect to be cured.