CASE: patient with chest pain
40-year-old Male patient with a 3 day history of chest pain. He also describes epigastric pain.
He has raised glucose in the urine with +1 Ketones.
He appears to be sweating.
ECG was normal.
Could he have pancreatitis?
Could he have myocarditis or pericardititis?
What is Hickam's dictum?
What is Saint's Triad?
Occam's Razor
Occam's Razor
Latin phrase entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitate,
“entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.
When a patient with multiple symptoms is being investigated the clinician should seek a single diagnosis rather than diagnosing two or more unrelated ones.
This is sometimes referred to as diagnostic parsimony.
Hickam: “patients can have as many diseases as they damn well please”
Hickam: “patients can have as many diseases as they damn well please”