3. Clinical signs

Clinical finding vs clinical sign

Clinical finding is all objective data/abnormalities gathered during evaluation; clinical sign is an observable manifestation of disease.

What factors determine whether a finding is normal?

Species, age, breed/size, physiological state, environment, and individual variation.

How does species affect normal findings?

A value normal for one species may be abnormal for another, such as heart rate in dogs vs horses.

How does age affect normal findings?

Young animals may have different normal physiological characteristics than adults.

How does breed and size affect normal findings?

Small/toy breeds generally have faster resting heart rates than medium/large breeds.

What physiological states can alter clinical findings?

Pregnancy, lactation, exercise, stress, and excitement.

How can the environment affect clinical findings?

Temperature, humidity, handling, and transportation can influence observations.

What is individual variation?

Differences in an animal’s traits, behavior, and physiological responses.

What is quantitative abnormality?

An abnormality where a finding is too high or too low.

What is qualitative abnormality?

An abnormality where the character, behavior, or function is different.

What are common general/systemic clinical signs?

Lethargy, weakness, fever, weight loss/gain, anorexia, and exercise intolerance.

What are common respiratory clinical signs?

Coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, dyspnea, tachypnea, and abnormal respiratory sounds.

What are common gastrointestinal clinical signs?

Vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain/distension, melena, and hematochezia.

What are common cardiovascular clinical signs?

Exercise intolerance, syncope, weakness, coughing, edema, and abnormal pulse.

What are common neurologic clinical signs?

Seizures, ataxia, altered mentation, paresis/paralysis, circling, and tremors.

What are common urinary/reproductive clinical signs?

Dysuria, hematuria, polyuria, polydipsia, and reproductive abnormalities.

What are common dermatologic clinical signs?

Pruritus, alopecia, erythema, scaling, and lesions.

Why are clinical signs usually nonspecific?

A single clinical sign can have many possible causes or diseases.

What diseases or conditions can cause coughing?

Airway, pulmonary, cardiac, infectious, parasitic disease, or irritation/foreign material.

What does “one sign ≠ one disease” mean?

A single clinical sign rarely establishes a specific diagnosis.

What questions help characterize a clinical sign?

What, when, severity, frequency, triggers, and associated clinical signs.

What should be assessed about the onset of a clinical sign?

Whether it is acute, chronic, intermittent, or progressive.

What should be assessed about the severity and frequency?

Determine whether it is mild/moderate/severe and occasional/frequent/continuous.

What triggers should be considered for clinical signs?

Exercise, eating, urination, defecation, or certain positions.

What details make vomiting more informative?

Onset, frequency, contents, timing, associated signs, hydration, and systemic status.

What is a clinical syndrome?

A recognizable pattern of multiple clinical findings suggesting a physiological process, organ system, or disease group.

What is an example of a respiratory syndrome?

Coughing, tachypnea, increased respiratory effort, nasal discharge, and abnormal lung sounds.

What is the difference between a syndrome and a diagnosis?

A syndrome identifies a pattern but does not establish a specific disease.

What is disease localization?

Determining the specific organ, tissue, or body area involved based on clinical findings.

What are the major uses of clinical findings?

Detect disease, assess severity, localize disease, develop differentials, select tests, establish prognosis, monitor progression, and evaluate treatment.