Do’s and Dont’s of Case Taking

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DON’TS OF CASE TAKING

  1. Do not hurry the patient in his narrative.
  2. Do not ask leading questions that suggest answers.
  3. Do not ask questions in a haphazard manner.
  4. Do not use complicated technical terms.
  5. Do not hide anything from the patient.
  6. Do not rely entirely on the patient’s statement (verify objectively).
  7. Avoid questions along the line of a particular remedy.
  8. Never ask alternating questions (e.g., Is it better in morning or evening?).
  9. Never skip randomly from one symptom to another.
  10. Never examine a lady in the absence of relatives or a female nurse.
  11. Always beware of temptations (ethical conduct).

DO’S OF CASE TAKING

  1. Ask for all complaints in detail.
  2. Speak slowly and write methodically.
  3. Start each symptom on a fresh line.
  4. Note symptoms in chronological order.
  5. Be dedicated, attentive, and unprejudiced

PURPOSE OF CASE TAKING

To Frame the Totality of Symptoms

  • Collect complete individualizing symptoms.
  • Form the basis of remedy selection.

To Perceive the True Picture of Disease

  • Understand mode of development.
  • Study chronological sequence.

For Proper Diagnosis

a) Nosological Diagnosis

  • Differentiate disease symptoms from patient’s individual symptoms.

b) Etiological Diagnosis

  • Identify exciting, maintaining, or precipitating cause.
  • If cause is removed, effect disappears.

c) Miasmatic Diagnosis

  • Identify fundamental chronic cause (Psora, Sycosis, Syphilis).

d) Personality Diagnosis

  • Constitution, temperament, mental behavior.

e) Therapeutic Diagnosis

  • Individualization from totality of symptoms

To Determine Nature of Disease

  • Indisposition / Surgical / Dynamic
  • Acute or Chronic
  • Curable or Incurable

To Analyze and Evaluate Symptoms

  • Study importance and hierarchy.
  • Select characteristic symptoms

To Maintain Systematic Records

  • Future reference
  • Treatment guidance
  • Research purpose

To Give Prognosis

  • Predict course of disease.
  • Assess response to treatment.

Viva Questions

  1. What is the importance of chronological order in case taking?
  2. Why should leading questions be avoided?
  3. What is miasmatic diagnosis?
  4. Differentiate nosological and therapeutic diagnosis.
  5. What is the ultimate aim of case taking?

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