This title was the British Medical Association Book Awards 2009 - First Prize Winner, Primary Care Category. "Evidence-Based Diagnosis in Primary Care" provides guidance on diagnosis in general practice, from the patient's first presentation with a symptom to the final establishment of a diagnosis or referral for further investigation. The book is divided into two parts: Symptoms; which details the steps necessary to reach a provisional diagnosis when a patient presents; and Disorders; in which the more detailed assessment of that initial diagnosis is described. This is the first book to be written about diagnosis in primary care that attempts to base its guidance on the research evidence. Enough information is provided on each symptom, or condition, to decide on the pre-test probability of each possible disorder, and how the symptoms, signs and investigations alter those probabilities to allow a conclusion to be reached about the most likely diagnosis. "Evidence-Based Diagnosis in Primary Care" also explains the principles of evidence-based diagnosis - with special emphasis on the issues raised by attempting an evidence-based approach in primary care - and clearly demonstrates the power, and the difficulties, of an evidence-based approach. Many chapters also feature 'red flags' - elements of the history or examination that should alert the practitioner to the possibility of serious disease, which is vital for general practice.

Part I. Symptoms Altered Bowel Habit Bleeding in Early Pregnancy Breast Problems A Cardiac Murmur Chest Pain Constipation Convulsions in Adults Cough Deafness Delirium Diarrhoea Dizziness Dyspepsia Dyspnoea Dysuria and Other Acute Urinary Symptoms in men Dysuria, Nocturia, Frequency and Urgency in Women Erectile Dysfunction Fatigue Fertility Problems Haematuria Haemoptysis Headache Heartburn Insomnia Intermittent Claudication Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms in men (luts) A Lump in The Neck Memory Loss and Dementia Menorrhagia Neck Pain Pain and Tingling in The arm and Hand Pain in The Face Palpitations A Pigmented Skin Lesion Pleuritic Chest Pain Rectal Bleeding Rhinorrhoea Sleepiness The Swollen leg Syncope Tinnitus Tremor Vaginal Discharge Weight Loss

Part 2. Disorders Acute Coronary Syndrome Acute Respiratory Infections Alcohol Misuse Anaemia Anxiety Disorders Asthma Benzodiazepine Dependence Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Coeliac Disease in Adults Colorectal Carcinoma Depressive Illness Diabetes Eating Disorders Fibromyalgia Food Allergy Heart Failure Hypertension Hyperthyroidism Hypothyroidism Irritable Bowel Syndrome Lung Cancer Meningitis Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Palliative Care Penicillin Allergy Pericarditis Pneumothorax Postnatal Depression Prostate Cancer Pulmonary Embolism Restless Legs Syndrome Stable Angina Thrombophilia