TeacherOfMedicine: Surgical sieve

When considering any clinical pattern it is important to consider what aetiology (cause) would fit. A systemic approach allows you to produce a list of possible diagnoses. This is a differential diagnosis. The "top differential" is the most likely diagnosis at that moment in time.

It is also important to promptly test for conditions which would have severe consequences in the short term if missed. These should be excluded from the differential, with sufficient evidence, as soon as possible. E.g. abdominal pain in a young woman could be an ectopic pregnancy. A prompt pregnancy test with a negative result will show that pregnancy is unlikely.

The surgical sieve refers to a system of structured thought when building a differential diagnosis. There are many mnemonics which can be helpful to remember these different categories.