10 TYPES OF MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - MEDICINE - 2025

The types of diagnosis can be clinical, laboratory, imaging, remote, exclusion, provocation and differential. Medical diagnosis is the process in which the existence of a disease or physical condition in the human body is determined.

To reach an accurate diagnosis it is necessary to collect and contrast information about the patient. This information is obtained through medical history, symptoms, signs and complementary studies.

Types of diagnosis according to the method

To reach a definitive diagnosis, it is necessary to collect enough information about the patient's condition. The necessary data are variable according to each disease, so it is necessary to apply different methods for each case.

These are the types of diagnosis that exist according to the method used:

Clinical diagnosis

The clinical diagnosis is one that is established in the medical consultation based on the analysis of the patient's history, the symptoms and the signs that the physical examination presents.

The symptoms are subjective evidence of disease. That is, they are those that the patient mentions but the doctor cannot verify objectively. Pain, tiredness, and anxiety are some examples.

The signs are objective evidence of the disease. That is to say, they are all those that the doctor can check through observation, auscultation or touch. Fever or an allergic reaction are examples of symptoms.

Clinical diagnosis has lost prominence due to technological advances that allow access to exact information about the patient's condition.

However, it is still essential for the doctor to determine which are the complementary tests that should be applied.

Laboratory diagnostics

Laboratory diagnosis is one that is reached through the analysis of the different fluids and tissues of the human body.

This includes blood, urine, and stool tests, as well as tissue biopsies. This type of diagnosis is based on different chemical, bacteriological and microscopic techniques.

It is important to note that there are no 100% reliable laboratory tests. Typically, the degree of reliability reaches 95%.

This implies that the results of laboratory tests should always be compared with other data such as signs and symptoms to confirm a diagnosis.

Imaging diagnosis

Imaging diagnosis is one that allows you to visualize the interior of the body to obtain information about a specific condition.

There are different instruments and techniques, which in turn produce different types of images. The type of study depends on the symptoms observed by the doctor in the clinical analysis and the organ that needs to be observed.

Some of these techniques are:

• X-rays
• CT scans
• Magnetic resonance imaging
• Ultrasounds
• Endoscopies or laparoscopies

Remote diagnostics

Remote diagnosis or remote diagnosis is one obtained when the patient is not in the presence of the doctor.

This type of diagnosis is typical of telemedicine and uses different technological resources so that the professional can observe the signs and symptoms as closely as possible.

These technological resources are very diverse and can range from a photograph or a teleconference, when the symptom can be perceived visually, to remote diagnostic technologies such as thermometers, stethoscopes or oximeters connected to computerized systems.

Exclusion diagnosis

The diagnosis of exclusion is one that is reached after ruling out all possible diseases.

This situation occurs in diseases or conditions that do not have a specific test to confirm them. Therefore, to reach a definitive diagnosis it is necessary to rule out all diseases that present the same symptoms.

One condition that is detected through a diagnosis of exclusion is irritable bowel syndrome.

There is no specific test to detect it, therefore, to detect it, laboratory studies are carried out to rule out celiac disease, anemia or infections.

This type of diagnosis is frequently applied in psychiatric disorders where it is necessary to rule out possible physical conditions before a psychic cause can be established.

Provocative diagnosis

It is the diagnosis that is reached by inducing an episode of the disease in a controlled way. It is applied in those cases in which there is no laboratory or imaging test that allows us to detect the disease with complete certainty.

Most allergies can be detected through this type of diagnosis. The procedure consists of subjecting the patient to the influence of the allergen to observe if a reaction occurs.

For example, to detect cold hives, a piece of ice is applied to the forearm for 10 minutes. If swelling, redness, and itching occur, the diagnosis can be confirmed.

Differential diagnosis

It is a type of diagnosis that is reached thanks to the detection of a minimum difference between two or more possible diagnoses.

This type of opinion requires great expertise on the part of the physician. You need a great knowledge of the symptoms of different diseases, the different medical tests to apply and deduction skills.

For example, different types of epilepsy often require a differential diagnosis. For this, it is necessary for the doctor to know the manifestations of the different types of epilepsy and to carry out the appropriate tests for each of them.

Types of diagnosis according to evolution

The diagnostic process can have a variable evolution time. There are easily detected diseases or medical conditions that can be identified almost immediately, but there are also others that can take even years to be diagnosed.

For this reason, there is a classification of the diagnosis according to its evolution:

Initial diagnostic

It is the first diagnosis made by the doctor and is usually based exclusively on clinical analysis.

This first opinion may be wrong, but it is essential because it is the basis for carrying out other types of analysis that help to determine the disease with certainty.

Partial diagnosis

The partial diagnosis is one that has different evidence to support it but cannot yet be confirmed.

Definitive diagnosis

It is the final diagnosis, when the doctor has reached the certainty of a condition or disease. There are diseases that do not have a definitive test to be detected, therefore they never reach the definitive diagnosis.

References

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