AAO-HNSF Primary Care Otolaryngology Handbook

CHAPTER 1

Differential Diagnosis Every time you see new patients, you begin to formulate a differential diagnosis for them. Most of us begin by doing this randomly, usually the five most recent diagnoses we have seen for this set of symptoms and physical findings. This works when you have seen several thousand patients, but it is not as useful if you have seen only 100 or so. A useful trick is to use an acronym that represents a system based on disease categories (such as “Vitamin C” in the accompanying box). Try it for yourself, and practice using it on all your patients. You will find that this or another system will be a big help in organizing your thoughts when you are confused or during high-stress rounds. V ascular

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I nfectious T raumatic A utoimmune (or anatomic) M etabolic I atrogenic or idiopathic

N eoplastic C ongenital

Staying organized is a key component to delivering the best care possible. Identify a system that works best for you in terms of recording and tracking patient information and data. Logs, note cards, and binders are all useful ways to keep track of patients and can guide your learning. Again, do not be afraid to ask questions. There is absolutely no shame in not knowing everything that you have learned or seen once, and always remember this is the time you should be learning as much as you possibly can.

Primary Care Otolaryngology