Resumen

MULET PEREZ, Agustín M. Syndrome: Inadequate Use of the Term in the Diagnostic Discussion. ccm [online]. 2015, vol.19, n.4, pp. 628-644. ISSN 1560-4381.

Introduction: the syndrome phase constitutes an important stage in the medical diagnostic process. An inadequate use of the term syndrome is observed in the diagnostic discussion. Objective: to identify whether there improper use of the term syndrome in the diagnostic discussion, as well as its main manifestations. Method: a descriptive observational study with methodological triangulation was conducted. The universe comprised all alive patient discharged from the wards of Internal Medicine at Vladimir Ilich Lenin Teaching Hospital from January 2008 to December 2009.  A random sample of 400 clinical records was selected of the total of 4520 files (4.5%). Results: there were twelve ways of manifestation of the inadequate use of the term    syndrome, that were grouped in four big categories: inappropriate  assignment   of the term (to denominate as syndrome the symptom, physical sign or an altered laboratory test); an inappropriate use of the syndrome (as a nosological diagnose, in the nosological differential diagnosis); imprecise formulation (an use of the most general term, incomplete formulation); other inadequate formulations (redundancy of syndromes in the syndrome statements, use of qualifying characteristic of the etiology  of a nosological condition, employment of qualifying characteristic of nosological conditions, lack of sustentation in the enunciated of syndrome)    Conclusions: there are cases of inadequate use of the term syndrome that is manifested in diverse ways and that it could be due to different factors.

Palabras clave : syndrome; diagnosis; diagnostic discussion.

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