LibGuides: Problem-based Learning & Finding the Evidence: Case 7: Samantha Lee

Books

The following are textbooks of possible interest and are available either in print or online.

To find more books of interest, use the Roger search box below.

Yen and Jaffe's Reproductive Endocrinology by Jerome F. Strauss; Robert L. Barbieri
ISBN: 145572758X
Publication Date: 2013
It is a large book, but don't let that intimidate you. The basics are in Ch. 1 and the later chapters of 21, 23, & 25 look quite appropriate from the TOC with the 25th being on the Endocrinology Disturbances Affecting Reproduction.
Williams Textbook of Endocrinology E-Book by Shlomo Melmed; Kenneth S. Polonsky; P. Reed Larsen; Henry M. Kronenberg
Call Number: 2016
ISBN: 0323341578
Publication Date: 2016-01-15
Several sections are applicable here - Pituitary, Reproduction, & Neoplasms (including Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia).
SuperMEN1 : pituitary, parathyroid and pancreas by Katalin Balogh, Attila Patocs
ISBN: 1441916644
Publication Date: 2009
The name says it all.
Principles of clinical genetics : the Massachusetts General Hospital guide to clinical cancer genetics by Daniel C. Chung and Daniel A. Haber
ISBN: 038793846X
Publication Date: 2010
Check out the chapter on Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia.

Samantha Lee

Resources for this Case

Textbooks (look left)

Dr. Santos Recommends: US Preventive Services Task Force for Screening Recommendations

Other National Organizations - Rare Diseases

Pregnancy, Medical Imaging, & Radiation - Guidelines?

Lab Tests Redux: Getting a Better Understanding of Tests

DDX Tools Redux : a Tip from Dr. Gates

Point of Care Tools : Getting the Bigger Picture or the fine details

Genetic Resources

Patient Information Resources

Screening Recommendations - National Organizations

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

Two option exist for finding some great information. First in this list is their main website that is worth browsing to see the background on who this organization is and the type of information they provide. Second in the list is for a specific tool you can use to find a specific screening list appropriate for your patient. This is one of the key sources for determining screening recommendations. For the upcoming clinic rotations, this app is a recommended one to have on your phones or tablet.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
The USPSTF conducts scientific evidence reviews of a broad range of clinical preventive health care services (such as screening, counseling, and preventive medications) and develops recommendations for primary care clinicians and health systems. Recommendations are provided with a grading system. Browse the recommendations..
U.S. Preventive Services' ePSS Apps
Fill in the information like a calculation. Enter patient specific details and find out the suggested screening recommendations. Choose the app or web version.

Other National Organizations & Resources

Mother to Baby
Check out the info on the about page to check out this organization and decide if you want to use this as a resource.
National Organization for Rare Disorders
A growing resource for information on rare disorders. They have both patient and health professional level information. Their health info is a nice encyclopedic entry with references and update dates (always a good sign when evaluating resources).
STATPearls: Gastrinoma
An Open Access book providing details an a long list of patient conditions.
Trip Database: Finding Guidelines
In addition to finding articles, including sustematic reviews, and Cochrane Library resources, you can use TRIP to find clinical guidelines. It also let's you search across multiple resources all at once.
Simply enter your search terms and look along the right to find the filter for Guidelines - you can then focus to US or specific US organizations.

Radiation & Pregnancy

Pregnancy & Radiation

How much radiation is okay? What's the risk to the baby? This is one reason why guidelines are created and are useful for your PBL topics. Google can help find these types of things, but sometimes, to get the good stuff, you need to be specific for what you want. For example, radiation & pregnancy might be a common way to search for info on this question. Using those 2 terms will get articles and a variety of organizations, but without a bit of shifting, you may miss the clinically relevant stuff. So how to change that up? Add the type of item you seek -- guidelines.

So, your search terms should be radiation pregnancy guidelines. You should get a couple of good things - I've highlighted a couple of them below.

Lab Tests Info

Looking up information about the results of lab tests are mostly background questions. The following resources are easy to use tools to find very reliable information about the normal values, reference ranges, and more. And, are a great follow up or addition to the information you might obtain with the US Preventive Services apps.

Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods by Richard A. McPherson; Matthew R. Pincus
Now available online! The definitive book in laborator medicine. It is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary pathology reference providing guidance on lab test selection & interpretation of results. When you need deeper explanations, this is the resource to use.
Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests by Diana Nicoll; Stephen J. McPhee; Michael Pignone; Chuanyi Mark Lu
Available from Access Medicine. This text includes most of the blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid tests - about 350 different tests. Browse the list to find a table on a specific items: range of normal values & how it is collected; physiologic basis; & interpretation. (Brief notes only)

Lab Tests Online
A peer-reviewed, non-commercial, and patient-centered resource. It is a free resource from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

Differential Diagnosis Resources

DDX Resources

Perhaps your questions this week deal with understanding the different symptoms the patient mentioned. What do they indicate? Without some good hunches it is hard to move forward. There are a number of differential diagnositc tools to help with the process. You may also find mnemonics helpful as well as the following website.

VINDICATE from FirstAidTeam.com
Introduction to Exercises in Clinical Reasoning
Try out their cases and get a little extra practice.
Digital DDX
UCSD designed

DDX & Symptom Checker Resources

Passing along a Tip from Dr. Gates regarding a DDX & Symptom Checker

Dr. Gates has found a very helpful text within Access Medicine - Symptoms to Diagnosis: An Evidence Based Guide. Presented through a series of cases of patients complaining of a specific issue, then walks you through buiding the DDX and prioritizing it, and making the diagnosis. Unlike the interactive tools that give you list, this text helps explain the thinking process. For example, here's a small screenshot of the hypercalcemia section.

Also listed below are some of the interactive DDX tools.

Symptom to Diagnosis by Scott D. C. Stern; et al.
An engaging case-based approach to learning the diagnostic process in internal medicine. Each chapter is built around a common patient complaint that illustrates essential concepts and provides insight into the process by which the differential diagnosis is identified. The author points out the findings that help you "rule in" or "rule out" the various diseases. Filled with algorithms, summary tables, and questions that direct evaluation,
Differential Diagnosis in Primary Care by R. Douglas Collins
Call Number: WB 141.5 C712d 2012
Print only, but a tremendous resource for understanding the patient's signs & symptoms. Also see suggested procedures and tests. Presented in case-based topics. Check out the TOC to see your options. Also, if you have ever wonder where to find medical mnemonics this book makes them easier to find.
Differential Diagnosis of Common Complaints by Robert H. Seller; Andrew B. Symons
This book looks at the 36 most common symptoms reported by patients in order to quickly and efficiently diagnose a condition. Each chapter mirrors the problem-solving process most physicians use to make a diagnosis. Determine which imaging modalities and laboratory tests offer the greatest efficiencies and accuracy for a given set of symptoms.

Diagnosaurus
Use the links to navigate through either symptoms or diseases to find a short list of etiology and when appropriate, those rare causes of a problem. Use the items in this list to know what else to explore in other resources.
Digital DDX
Created by Charlie Goldberg, M.D., and Derek Juang, M.D. and designed so for this type of situation. Check it out.
Isabel Health - Free Symptom Checker
A small section of a well-regarded clinical tool but this symptom checker is free to use - no subscription required. Enter symptoms (including multiple symptoms at once) and it will help you use some standardized terms.

Point of Care Tools

Point of Care Tools

Get that bigger picture, determine the ddx, or find the clinical features of a disease with one of these tools. Try one you haven't used before - switching tools is easy to do and you might pick up some different practice pearls. The NIH Rare Disease section refers to Medscape for more indepth info on MEN1 & 2.

Up to Date
Great details about so many clinical topics.
Medscape
They have an nice DDX tab. (You may need to create and account - free - to access this resource - and they don't spam.)

Search or browse for a topic of interest and DDX will be one of the sections of available information.
Micromedex

Life-long Resources -- Genetics

Genetic Resources

Looking for some details on MEN1 or MEN2? Perhaps one of the following will give you what you need.

Genetics: GeneReviews
A free resource (book) that is on the NCBI bookshelf (NCBI also does PubMed). It is expert-authored and peer-reviewed, with disease descriptions that apply genetic testing to the diagnosis, management, and genetic counseling of patients and families with specific inherited conditions.
Genetics: GARD - Genetic & Rare Diseases Information Center
A project from two agencies of the National Institutes of Health, The Office of Rare Diseases Research (ORDR) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) to help people find useful information about genetic conditions and rare diseases.
OMIM - Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man
Explore this comprehensive, authoritative, and timely compendium of human genes and genetic phenotypes. It is offers full-text, referenced overviews on all known mendelian disorders and over 12,000 genes. OMIM focuses on the relationship between phenotype and genotype.

Patient Information Resources

Mayo Clinic
A very easy to navigate resource that provides good information in understandable terms make this a great tool for patient information.
MedlinePlus.gov
MedlinePlus.gov is always an option for patient information. It has a dictionary, drug info, health news items, video tutorials, sign language materials, and resources in over 50 languages.

The Genetics Home Reference content is now integrated in MedlinePlus. Very helpful info, at a higher than usual reading level, that can help you understand how genetics might impact a person's health or treatment.

Help you patients find the best resources and know when they have found a reliable site -- direct them to MedlinePlus' guides to "Evaluating Health Information" and "Healthy Web Surfing".