3 ms·
There's a saying we learned in medical school: "When you hear hoof-beats, think horses not zebras." Ordering tests for every possible condition that could cau
by phren0logy 17y ago
There's a saying we learned in medical school:
"When you hear hoof-beats, think horses not zebras."
Ordering tests for every possible condition that could cause presenting symptoms is usually not the right idea. It's a difficult problem, because sometimes it really is a zebra. That's part of the art of medicine.
But not every child with a bloody nose needs a bone-marrow biopsy. That means that a child with serious blood coagulation problem may not get one with the first nose bleed. Is that a bad call? If you are that kid, you might think so. There's no easy answer, only thoughtful trade-offs.
- Zak 17y agoI'm not saying you're wrong. What I am saying is that putting more power in the hands of patients is a good thing. I'm also saying that in my experience, there seems to be a tendency for doctors to ignore the patient saying "but it has stripes". For a case in point, see http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=668195 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=668195
- carbocation 17y agoI disagree that letting people order lab tests for themselves is, on balance, a good thing for the population's health. I agree that it is something that should nevertheless be allowed, in many cases, under the aegis of individual freedom.
- carbocation 17y agoAs an aside, in the heavy bleeding described in the post that you linked to sounds like classical endometriosis, particularly since it was resolved by GnRH. If so, it is rather surprising that your doctors did not figure this out; most medical students could.