History taking

Taking thorough general history aids in the effective treatment of an intoxicated patient. Often it may not be possible to communicate directly with the patient due to a lack of consciousness, altered mental state leading to inaccurate information, or deliberate submission of misleading information. The type of information that is essential and helpful include  

Historical information can include information obtained from family, friends, law enforcement and medical personnel, and any observers. 

---

A 55-year-old patient has been referred to you. She complains about a skin rash and a cough. In the course of history taking, she tells you that she takes high blood pressure medication but she doesn t remember the name. You suspect a drug toxicity. Which of the following antihypertensive agents is the patient most likely taking ... 

Some new work has been done here which shows the effects of solvents exposure. A new study illustrates a simple method of detoxification using heat chamber depuration (sauna), and raises awareness in the practice of medicine of the importance of taking an environmentally oriented historical approach. The connection between symptoms of chronic degenerative diseases and environmental and/or nutritional factors is missed in many cases due to lack of obtaining an environmentally oriented medical history. Taking such a history and dealing with the cause of illness using avoidance and/or appropriate therapy is preventive and cost-effective for both the patient and society (Krop, 1998). 

Next, the physician rules out medical causes for the depressive syndrome through further history taking, a physical examination, and laboratory tests. 

A visual analog scale can be used for sleepiness, and is similar to what is commonly used in the assessment of pain. It typically uses a horizontal line (e.g., 10 cm), on which subjects can draw a vertical mark indicating their degree of alertness or sleepiness. In theory this provides a continuous measure, rather than a discrete integer. This is probably overly simplistic to measure a multidimensional and complex phenomenon like sleepiness. It does not add much to simple history taking, and is overall rarely used (3,4). 

Our next case history takes what we have learnt about donor-acceptor interactions between arene building blocks in interlocked molecules and exploits that knowledge base in a more conventional intramolecular arena. The self-complexing compound 164+ (Figure 10) incorporates [11] a linear polyether thread intercepted by a DNP ring system, which is co-... 

Every Monday in your oncology outpatient department, you run a pharmacist/ nurse-led oral capecitabine clinic, where patients are referred to you by oncologists for pretreatment counselling, drug history-taking and supplementary chemotherapy prescribing (under set clinical management plans) for the adjuvant treatment of colon cancer or treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. 

By conveying qualities of relatedness, cultivation, and generation, these terms evoke processes of reproduction that are simultaneously social and biological. These qualities are captured beautifully in the comments of one of Nancy Ries s Russian interlocutors Rodina is habitat, nature, soil— but it s a very fermenting thing. Upon or within it history takes place ... 

Damage to the iris sphincter muscle by high intraocular pressure, trauma, or inflammation may impair pilocarpine s ability to constrict the pupil. Clinically, these conditions can usually be excluded by a careful history taking and biomicroscopic examination. Mechanical foctors associated with malpositioned intraocular lenses or posterior synechiae may also limit movement of the iris. Depending on the extent of iris damage, the pupil may demonstrate complete to nonexistent constriction. 

She appears slightly nervous and describes her mood as "pretty bad." She describes her marriage as "average" and her children as the "center of her life." She is moderately impatient with the interview questions relative to history taking, since she wants to "get on with things."... 

Bates, B. Interviewing and Health History. In A Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking, 5th Ed. J.B. Lippincott Company Philadelphia, 1991 1-26. 

Figure 7.3 (A) The ECG corresponds to a patient Nevertheless, properly performed history taking suggested...

At least 40% of all cases of chest pain arriving at a hospital s emergency department (Figure 7.1) present an ACS (history taking, ECG, enzymes, complementary tests, etc.) that will either evolve or not towards an infarction (enzymes, ECG evolution, etc.). 

In STE-ACS the TIMI risk score is most commonly used (Morrow et al., 2000a,b). This score is formed by seven variables that may be easily obtained, including history taking, ECG changes,... 

In CVD, patient interview, history taking, and physical examination are the most important elements of patient assessment. " Technologically advanced tests can be used effectively only in conjunction with a complete physical examination and history. 

---