Diagnosis of exclusion

Encyclopedia : D : DI : DIA : Diagnosis of exclusion

The term diagnosis of exclusion (per exclusionem) refers to a medical condition whose presence cannot be established with complete confidence from examination or testing. Diagnosis is therefore by elimination of other reasonable possibilities.

An example of such a diagnosis is "fever of unknown origin": to explain the cause of elevated temperature the most common causes of unexplained fever (infection, neoplasm, or collagen vascular disease) must be ruled out.

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