....until proven otherwise

There are few diseases that are important not to be missed in any differential diagnosis. When you see any patient with signs and symptoms that may fit the condition, you have to do few tests and investigation to rule in or rule out few important diseases.

Off the top of my head, these are what I could remember...

• Fever in a returned traveller is malaria until proven otherwise.
• Broad complex tachycardia is ventricular tachycardia until proven otherwise.
• Nocturnal joint pain is tumour until proven otherwise.
• Monoarticular arthritis is infectious until proven otherwise.
• Iron deficiency anaemia equals to occult bleeding until proven otherwise.
  

I end this post with a quote I found from a dermatology book.

"The dermatologist's art is giving a disease a long Greek name...and then a topical steroid" :)