Acute illnesses are those conditions which take a very short duration before a patient fully recovers from them. Such conditions may either be minor or serious. Minor acute conditions are the ones that form the bulk of healthcare problems faced by persons living in communities like skin rashes or respiratory tract infections (Jones et al., 2010). Major acute illnesses on the other hand may come in the form of an acute exacerbation of a chronic illness which an individual may be dealing with as at a particular time or if a person experiences a sudden onset of a condition which was not diagnosed from a previous hospital visit. In seeing to it that such conditions have been addressed in the most appropriate manner, a proper a diagnostic process need to be followed.
The first factor which will have to be taken into consideration when determining the diagnostic tests suited for a particular acute illness is the seriousness of the condition as it advances. In such a situation, a clinician will be required to employ the watchful waiting period technique as a way of establishing how the symptoms of such a condition are progressing (Loeb, Berglund & Stattin, 2013). Such a strategy will be significant in monitoring a patient and getting the most effective treatments for them. The second factor to consider is whether a particular acute illness is brought about as a result of the drugs used to treat it leading to symptoms for which such medication was prescribed (Hunt, Kreiner & Brody, 2012). As such, the diagnosis process of such a condition may be a challenge and as such, the clinician needs to be aware of the client’s illnesses history. The Last factor that determines the diagnosis of an acute illness is whether such a condition requires more tests to ascertain it. Such a situation will call for a differential diagnosis to be carried out to act as a basis for providing the required treatments and management.
References
Hunt, L. M., Kreiner, M., & Brody, H. (2012). The changing face of chronic illness management in primary care: a qualitative study of underlying influences and unintended outcomes. The Annals of Family Medicine, 10(5), 452-460.
Jones, R., White, P., Armstrong, D., Ashworth, M., & Peters, M. (2010). Managing acute illness. Retrieved from https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/sites/files/kf/field/field_document/managing-acute-illness-gp-inquiry-research-paper-mar11.pdf
Loeb, S., Berglund, A., & Stattin, P. (2013). Population based study of use and determinants of active surveillance and watchful waiting for low and intermediate risk prostate cancer. The Journal of urology, 190(5), 1742-1749.
