diagnoses Archives - Family Medicine News

Psychiatric diagnoses ‘neither necessary nor sufficient’ for access to NHS care in UK

28.10.2019 Health Problems

A new study, published in the Journal of Mental Health, finds psychiatric diagnoses are seldom used as entry criteria for NHS mental health services in the UK. Despite controversy over their validity, and the damage they can do to people who receive the labels, psychiatric diagnoses are usually argued to be essential for accessing care, determining treatment options, communicating between […]

New test diagnoses Lyme disease within 15 minutes

11.10.2019 Health Problems

Some 300,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year. Caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted by the bite of infected Ixodes ticks, the disease if left untreated can cause serious neurologic, cardiac, and/or rheumatologic complications. Current testing for Lyme disease, called the standard 2-tiered approach or the STT, involves running two complex assays (ELISA and western […]

Doctors issue caution over missed cancer diagnoses tied to immune disorder

02.10.2018 Health Problems

Physicians who specialize in a devastating and aggressive immune disorder called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) report in a new study that extra care should be taken to ensure an HLH diagnosis doesn’t obscure possible underlying cancers. Because HLH is dangerously aggressive in its progression and attack on vital organs—often causing death—doctors frequently pursue immediate treatment for the immune disorder after a […]