Clinical Diagnostic Tools
The quality and
reliability of health information on the Web vary widely. When evaluating
Web-based health information, consider the site's source and funding, how often
it is updated, the author's credentials and affiliations, and whether that
information is clearly stated. For more information about how to evaluate Web
resources, see
Website
Evaluation and Citing.
Please note: the materials presented here
are intended to lead clinicians to a selective list of reliable resources of
diagnostic information. This list is meant to be representative, not
exhaustive.
Please send
any comments concerning this page to Karen Odato.
Overviews of Evidence-Based Diagnosis
Web Essay
on Evidence-Based Diagnosis from Bandolier
http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/diagnos/Diagessy.html
How to Read an
Article on a New Diagnostic Test
http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec0342/001.htm
How to Use an Article
About a Diagnostic Test
http://www.cche.net/usersguides/diagnosis.asp
Roman
Jaeschke, Gordon H. Guyatt, David L. Sackett, and the Evidence Based Medicine
Working Group; Centres for Health Evidence Based on the Users' Guides to
Evidence-based Medicine and reproduced with permission from JAMA.
(1994;271(5):389-391) and (1994;271(9):703-707). Copyright 1995, American
Medical Association.
How to Use an Article
About Disease
Probability for Differential Diagnosis
http://www.cche.net/usersguides/probability.asp
W. Scott
Richardson, Mark C. Wilson, Gordon H. Guyatt, Deborah J. Cook, James Nishikawa,
and the Evidence Based Medicine Working Group Based on the Users Guides to
Evidence-based Medicine and reproduced with permission from JAMA. (1999 Apr 7;
281(13):1214-9). Copyright 1999, American Medical Association.
Major Tools
DXplain
http://www.merckmedicus.com
DXplain is a decision support
system which uses a set of clinical findings (signs, symptoms, laboratory data)
to produce a ranked list of diagnoses which might explain (or be associated
with) the clinical manifestations. DXplain provides justification for why each
of these diseases might be considered, suggests what further clinical
information would be useful to collect for each disease, and lists what
clinical manifestations, if any, would be unusual or atypical for each of the
specific diseases. Developed by the Massachusetts General Hospital.
Note: Registration but no payment is required;users must have a
current medical license to access DXplain from this site.
The Merck Manual of
Diagnosis and Therapy
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/sections.htm
An online
searchable and browsable version of the popular print manual.
History and Physical Exam Tools
Bedside Diagnosis: An
Annotated Bibliography of
Literature on Physical Examination and
Interviewing
http://www.acponline.org/public/bedside/index.html
This is
an online version of the third edition of a book written by Henry Schneiderman,
MD, FACP, and Aldo J. Peixoto, MD, and published by the American College of
Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine in 1997. Bedside
Diagnosis provides an extensive and comprehensive review of the available
literature pertaining to both physical diagnosis and interviewing. The papers,
books, and tapes reviewed are described succinctly with their strengths and
weaknesses clearly outlined.
The
Screening Physical Exam
http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/meded/medicine/pulmonar/pd/contents.htm
From the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "The Screening
Physical Exam steps have been developed to meet the needs of the Stritch School
of Medicines' sophomore students...For each step the objective, method of exam,
normal, abnormal and required knowledge are provided in separate modules.
Consultants have reviewed steps pertinent to their field for accuracy and
provided material for abnormalities."
A Practical Guide to Clinical
Medicine
http://medicine.ucsd.edu/clinicalmed/
A comprehensive
physical examination and clinical education site for medical students and other
health care professionals from University of California, San
Diego.
The
R.A.L.E.® Repository
http://www.rale.ca/Recordings.htm
The R.A.L.E.®
Repository (Respiration Acoustics Laboratory Environment) presents digital
recordings of respiratory sounds in health and disease.
The Auscultation
Assistant
http://www.wilkes.med.ucla.edu/intro.html
The Auscultation
Assistant provides heart sounds, heart murmurs, and breath sounds in order to
help medical students and others improve their physical diagnosis
skills.
The Neuro
Exam
http://www.neuroexam.com/
An interactive
online guide to the neurological exam with video demonstrations.
Diagnostic Calculator Tools
EBM Statistics Calculator: Diagnostic Tests
http://www.cebm.utoronto.ca/practise/ca/statscal/
From the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine in Toronto. Calculates the Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive Predictive Value, Negative Predictive Value, and Likelihood Ratios.
Diagnostic Test
Calculator
http://araw.mede.uic.edu/cgi-bin/testcalc.pl
Developed by
Dr. Alan Schwartz Assistant Professor of Clinical Decision Making in the
Department of Medical Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The Medical
Algorithms Project
http://www.medal.org/
A
Medical Algorithm is any computation, formula, survey, or look-up table, useful
in healthcare. Over 3000 algorithms spanning major medical domains, organized
into 44 chapters.
Clinical Decision Making
Calculators
http://www.fammed.ouhsc.edu/robhamm/cdmcalc.htm
This site
includes many spreadsheet calculators; each spreadsheet performs a common
calculation useful for clinical decisions or for analyzing data pertinent to
clinical decisions. Developed by Robert M. Hamm, PhD, Associate Professor and
Director, Clinical Decision Making Program, Dept. of Family and Preventive
Medicine, U of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Likelihood ratios from the Bandolier archives
http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/diagnos/Liketab.html
Reports on the development of likelihood ratios calculated for a variety of
conditions (e.g., OAD, anemia, TB.)
Screening Tools
Screening
Reports from Bandolier
http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/booths/diag.html#screen
Reports
on the value of screening for many different diseases/conditions.
Laboratory Testing Tools
Handbook for Interpretation of Laboratory Tests
http://www.dml.co.nz/clin_handbook.asp
From
Diagnostic MedLab, a large laboratory in New Zealand.
Clinical Laboratory
Science Internet Resources
http://members.tripod.com/~LouCaru/index-5.html
An
extensive list of resources developed by Louis B. Caruana, Ph.D., MT(ASCP),
Professor Emeritus, Clinical Laboratory Science Program, College of Health
Professions, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, TX.
Imaging Tools
CHORUS
(Collaborative Hypertext of Radiology)
http://chorus.rad.mcw.edu/
From the Medical College of
Wisconsin. CHORUS is a "quick reference" hypertext for physicians and medical
students. More than 1,100 documents describe: diseases, radiological findings,
differential-diagnosis lists ("gamuts"), and pertinent anatomy, pathology, and
physiology.
Whole Brain Atlas
http://www.med.harvard.edu/AANLIB/home.html
From the
Harvard Medical School. An online atlas of MR images of the brain. Includes
sections on the normal brain, cerebrovascular disease, degenerative disease,
neoplastic disease, and inflammatory/infectious disease. Includes "tours" and
MGEG movies.
Diagnosis Aggregate sites
Web sites with
links to many Diagnosis sites.
Bandolier
Library - Diagnostics
http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/booths/diag.html
Includes diagnosis sites in specific disciplines from the UK. Bandolier is a
print and Internet journal about health care, using evidence-based medicine
techniques to provide advice about particular treatments or
diseases.
Diagnostic Tools for the PDA
Healthy Palm Pilot -
Diagnosis
http://www.healthypalmpilot.com/Diagnosis/
Resources reviewed, rated, and available for download, including many
free applications. [Click on "Signs and Symptoms" and/or "Diagnostic Criteria"]
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