Abstract

Macleod’s Clinical Diagnosis is an innovative new book complementing its companion sister textbook, the internationally-respected Macleod’s Clinical Examination. It is a practical manual of clinical assessment that describes how common presenting problems are evaluated and diagnosed in modern clinical practice. This book will be an invaluable resource for senior medical students and junior doctors as they attempt to make the difficult transition from mastering basic clinical skills to assessing patients in the real world of clinical medicine.

The format of the book is as follows:

• Part 1: The principles of clinical assessment: in addition to defining the scope and remit of the book this initial group of chapters invites readers to reconsider the overall aims of clinical assessment, the contribution that each element of the assessment can make to these aims and how the approach must be adapted to fit the clinical context. It also touches on diagnostic theory and explains some different approaches to diagnosis.

• Part 2: How to assess common presenting problems: this section forms the core of the book and consists of a series of ‘diagnostic guides’ covering the major presenting problems in medicine and surgery; these provide the reader with a system for how to use the tools of history-taking, physical examination and routine tests to arrive at a logical differential diagnosis. The guides also cover some limited ‘post-diagnosis information’ in the form of severity/prognostic indicators.

• A unique book allowing a reader to apply the skills of clinical examination in the formulation of a differential diagnosis and placing a patient’s symptoms in context.
• Takes a problem-based approach to diagnostic reasoning, reflecting both modern medical and current educational practices.
• Builds on the clinical skills outlined in the companion Macleod’s Clinical Examination textbook.