Skip to Main Content

Problem-based Learning & Finding the Evidence: Case 4: John Harris -- Oooh, my feet!

Books

The following are textbooks of possible interest and are available either in print or online.  

To find more books of interest, use the Roger search box below.

Case 4 : John Harris -- Oooh, my feet!

Resources for this Case

Textbooks (look left)

Finding the background "What, How, Why" Resources

Clinical Tools -- Medscape & Up to Date

A Reminder about DDX tools

Google Tips - Make Google work harder for you

Genetic Resources

Patient Information Resources

Background Look Ups -- the What, How, & Why Questions

Don't forget that some of the basic questions can best be answered by some of the textbook resources.  Since you may not always know what is the best one to use, the collection of textbooks in Access Medicine offer a quick way to find resources.

In this case, things like; what is APGAR?  how is it used?  what is Stevens-Johnson?  why does it occur?  Or, what to do when medication errors occur. So many questions but also so many answers.

Don't forget the drug databases (especially Micromedex) as a resource to understand more about Stevens-Johnson.

Clinical Tools

These resources may also provide answers for some of those What, How, & Why questions.  A few tools do a great deal of the work for you to gather information and re-package it into a nice synthesized statement on a disease or condition.  However, they all have some work to do as not all topics are as fully covered as they could be.  One of our derm specialists recommends Medscape.

Differential Diagnosis Tools

DX Resources

Perhaps your questions this week deal with understanding the different symptoms the patient mentioned.  What do they indicate?  Without some good hunches it is hard to move forward.  There are a number of differential diagnositc tools to help with the process.

Books:

  • Ddx in Primary CareDifferential Diagnosis and Treatment in Primary Care  (WB 141.5 C712d 2018)  The book lists alphabetically a variety of symptoms.  Each category provides a section on the "approach to diagnosis" and other userful tests to consider.  Some sections have short case presentations to test your skills.
  • Ddx in Primary CareDifferential Diagnosis in Primary Care (WB 39 R231d 2009)  Similar looking name but organized differently.  This book presents information organized by areas of the body
  • Ddx of Common ComplaintsDifferential Diagnosis of Common Complaints  (WB 141.5 S467d)  The book is organized around common presenting complaints.  Sections also include details on associated symptoms, physical findings, diagnostic studies, and presents a summary of these in a handy table format.  Check out their chapter on Skin Problems.  
  • Symptom to Diagnosis is a case-based format filled with algorithms and summary tables.
  • Differential Diagnosis in Internal Medicine and also includes dermatology and rheumatology with an emphasis on pathophysiological aspects.

Online Tools:  Usually just a list, some have brief descriptions

  • Access Medicine's Diagnosaurus
  • Medscape's DDX tool - look for the DDX tab once you've run a search.  (It will require setting up a free account, but this tool is worth the couple minutes to do this.)
  • Digital DDX created by Charlie Goldberg, M.D., and Derek Juang, M.D. and designed for this type of situation. Check it out. 
  • Isabel Health - Free Symptom Checker

    A small section of a well-regarded clinical tool but this symptom checker is free to use - no subscription required. Once you register, enter symptoms and it will help you use some standardized terms.

 

Google Tips

Making Google Work Harder for You

I know sometimes that Google is the favorite place to search simply because it works so well.  But how can you make the best stuff jump to the top of the list?  There are some tricks you can use - in this case, a domain search.

Think about who might be the best provider of the information needed.  Would that be an university?  Would it be a government agency?  Might it be a national organization?  My go-to technique often is government because it includes all that stuff in PubMed & full-text articles in PMC.

So maybe to a search on severe cutaneous drug reactions add site:gov
You can always revise the search qualifier to a org or edu if needed, but see what you can find with this start - knowing that you are using typically authoritative resources and not just Wikipedia.

Google Web Search

Life-long Resources -- Genetics

Genetics Resources

These two resources are available to everyone without a subscription and for the most part have been developed with government funding.  One is more health professional focused and the other has more patient or consumer focused information.  These tools will be available to you even when you graduate and move on from UCSD. 

Patient Information Resources

Search MedlinePlus: