Transcript Inquiry
Inquiry
Department of Gastroenterology
Ren-Ji Hospital
Prof. Zhi Hua Ran
Inquiry
It is the method that physician obtain the clinic
data of patient, and further propose clinical
judgment by comprehensive analysis
Inquiry is the major methods of history taking
It is a fundamental skill that every physician
should know
Basic principles
Good communication skills are the foundation of
excellent medical care
It improves health outcomes by resolving symptoms and
reducing patients’ psychological distress and anxiety
The quality of patient care depends greatly on the skills
of interviewing, because the relationship that a patient
has with a physician is probably the most extraordinary
relationship between two human beings
Basic principles
To gather all basic information pertinent (相关的)
to the patient’s illness and the patient’s adaptation
to illness
An experienced interviewer considers all the
aspects of the patient’s presentation and follows
the leads that appear to deserve the most attention
Basic principles
The clinician must be keenly aware of all clues, subtle or
obvious
Although body language is important, the spoken word
remains the central diagnostic tool in medicine
The art of talking and listening continues to be the
central part of the doctor-patient interaction
Once all the clues from the history have been gathered,
the assimilation(消化) of those clues into an ultimate
diagnosis is relatively easy
Basic principles
Communication is the key to a successful
interviews
It must be able to ask questions of the patient
freely
These questions must always be easily understood
and keyed to the medical sophistication of the
patient
Content of inquiry
General data
Chief complaint
History of present illness
Past history
Review of systems
Personal history
Marital history
Menstrual history
Family history
General data
Name
Age
Native place
Marital status
Profession
Data of record
Reliability
Sex
birth place
Nation
Mail address
Data of admission
Source
Chief complaint
It is the patient’s brief statement explaining why
he or she sought medical attention
It is the answer to the question
“What is the problem that brought you to the
hospital?”
In the written history, it is frequently a quoted
statement of the patient
Chief complaint
It should be one or two sentences including the
time periods from onset to seeing the doctor
Not the diagnostic term from the doctor
Chief complaint
“Chest pain for the past 5 hours”
“Terrible nausea and vomiting for 2 days”
“Headache for the last week, on and off”
History of present illness
The history of the present illness refers to the recent
changes in health that led the patient to seek medical
attention at this time
It describes the information relevant to the chief
complaint
It should answer the questions what, when, how, where,
which, who, and why
History of present illness
Chronology(按年月次序的排列) is the most
practical frameworks(框架) for organizing the
history
It enables the interviewer to comprehend(理解)
the sequential development of the underlying
pathologic process
History of present illness
In this section the doctor gathers all the necessary
information, starting with the first symptoms of
the present illness and following its progression to
present day
It is important to verify that the patient was
entirely well before the earliest symptom to
establish the beginning of the current illness
History of present illness
The character of symptoms
location identity during intensity
relief or provoke factors(触发因素)
Time during may be lasted for years, months,
days
It may also be of hours or minutes (in those with
acute onset)
History of present illness
Causes and inducing factors
investigate the causes that related with onset of the
disease:
trauma
intoxication
infection
inducing factors: emotion diet environment
Caution
the causes that recently occurred may be easily
recognized by the patient
hardly recognized by the patients if the causes are
complicated or if the courses lasted for years
History of present illness
Progression
including the changes in predominant symptoms
or occurrence of new symptoms
cirrhotic patient manifested some neurological signs,
hepatic encephalopathy should be highly suspected
chest pain lasted unusually and more severely than
previous episodes(发作) of angina, myocardial
infarction should be suspected
History of present illness
Accompanying symptoms
it is useful in differential diagnosis
e.g. patient manifested nausea, vomiting and fever,
accompanied with jaundice and/or shock, acute
biliary infection or acute pancreatitis should be
considered
History of present illness
Course of diagnosis and treatment
The diagnosis and treatment the patient had received in
other medical institution may provide informative data
The diagnosis made by others could not replace one’s
diagnosis
General condition during the course
it may also provide some useful information
Past medical history
The past medical history consists of the overall assessment of the
patient’s health before the present illness include a statement of
childhood and adult problems
Parameters including:
general state of health
injuries
surgery
immunizations
diet
current medications
past illness
hospitalizations
allergies
substance abuse
sleep patterns
alternative therapies
Past medical history
The patient should be asked about any prior injuries or accidents
The type of injury and the data are important
All hospitalization must be indicated, including admissions for
medical, surgical, and psychiatric illness
All surgical procedures should be specified. The type of procedure,
data, hospital
All allergies should be described. These include environmental,
ingestible, and drug related
It is important to determine the immunization history of all patients
Review of systems
The review of systems summarizes in terms of body
systems all the symptoms that may have been overlooked
in the history of the present illness or in the medical
history
By reviewing in an orderly manner the list of possible
symptoms, the interviewer can specifically check each
system and uncover additional symptoms of “unrelated”
illness not yet discussed
Review of systems
The review of systems is best organized from the head
down to the extremities
Patients are told that they are going to be asked whether
they have ever had a particular symptom and should
answer “Yes” or “no”
Review of systems
Respiratory system
cough: identity frequency
sputum production: quantity appearance
coughing up blood
shortness of breath
Cardiovascular system
chest pain
shortness of breath with exertion
palpitations
shortness of breath lying flat
sudden shortness of breath while sleeping
history of heart attack
Review of systems
GI system
appetite
excessive hunger
excessive thirst
nausea
constipation
diarrhea
heartburn vomiting
abdominal pain
change in stool color/caliber/consistency
frequency of bowel movements
vomiting blood
rectal bleeding
black tarry stools
Review of systems
Urinary system
frequency
urgency
incontinence
difficulty in the starting the stream
excessive urination
pain on urination
burning
blood in the urine
bed-wetting flank pain
history of retention
urine color
urine odor
Review of systems
Hematological system
pallor
yellow skin petechia
purpura
ecchymosis hematoma
Endocrinological system and metabolite
weakness
profound sweating
abnormal appetite weight change
Review of systems
Neurologic system
fainting dizziness
mood changes
loss of memory
speech disorders
general behavioral change
disorientation
Musculoskeletal
weakness
paralysis
muscle stiffness
limitation of movement
joint pain
joint stiffness
arthritis
gout deformities
Review of systems
Review of systems may involved lots of clinical
diseases
One has to understand the pathophysilogical meaning
of these signs and symptoms
In each systems, it is practical to ask several symptoms
The inquire may be intensified if there is positive
symptoms/signs is elicited
Personal history
Social experiences
birth place
living area and duration particularly those
epidemical areas
education
living condition hobby
Profession and working place/condition
Habit
smoking (amount and duration)
anesthetic drug(麻醉药)
Unhealthy sexual history
Unhealthy sexual history:
Sexually transmitted disease
Marital history
Marital history:
single or married
age of marriage
heath condition of partner
Menstrual history
Menstrual history
age of menarche (first menstrual cycle)
cycles and flow lasting
amount of vaginal bleeding/discharges
menopause and age of menopause
Format
flow lasting(day)
menarche
last menopause
cycle(day)
Family history
It provides information about the health of the
entire family,living and dead
Pay attention to possible genetic and
environmental aspects of disease that might have
implications for the patient
Skill and methods in inquire
Getting started
The narrative(叙述)
The closing
Getting started
The diagnostic process begins at the first moment of
meeting
One should be dressed appropriately, wearing a white
coat with one’s name badge identifying one as a
physician
One should make patient as comfortable as possible
One should sit in a chair directly facing the patient in
order to make good eye contact
Getting started
The interviewer should sit in a relaxed position
without crossing arms across the chest
The crossed-arms position is not appropriate, as
this body language projects an attitude of
superiority and may interfere with the progress of
the interview
Getting started
Making the patient feel that you are interested and concerned
Once the introduction has been made, you may begin the
interview by asking a general ,open-ended question
“What medical problem has brought you to the hospital?”
This type of opening remark allows the patient to speak first
The interviewer can determine the patient’s chief complaint
or the problem that is regarded as paramount(极为重要的)
Getting started
If the patient says “Haven’t you read my records?”
It is correct to say “No, I’ve been asked to interview you
without any prior information”
or “I would like to hear your story in your words”
Patients can determine very quickly if you are friendly
and personally interested in them
The narrative
Novice (初学者)interviewers are often worried
about remembering the patient’s history
It is poor form to write extensive notes during the
interview
Attention should be focused more on what the
person is saying and less on the written word
The narrative
After the introductory story, the interviewer should
proceed to questions related to the chief complaint
These should naturally evolve into questions related to the
other formal parts of the medical history, such as the
present illness,past illnesses, social and family history,
and review of body system
The narrative
Patients should largely be allowed to conduct the
narrative in their own way
The interviewer must select certain aspects that
require further details and guard the patient toward
them
The narrative
Overdirection is to be avoided, because this
stifles the interview and prevents important points
from being clarified
When patients use vague(含糊的) terms (术
语)such as “often”, “a little”, “sometimes”, the
interviewer must always for clarification, ask
“What does ‘sometimes’ mean?” or “How often is
‘often’?”
The narrative
The interviewer should be alert (警觉)for
subtle clues from the patient to guide the
interview further
There are a variety of technique to encourage and
sustain the narrative
The closing
By the conclusion of the interview, the
interviewer should have a clear impression of the
reason why the patient sought medical help, the
history of the present illness, the patient’s past
medical history
If any part of the history needs clarification, this
is the time to obtain it
The closing
At the conclusion, it is polite to encourage the patient to
discuss any additional problems or to ask any questions
“Is there anything else you would like to tell me that I
have not already asked?”
Thank the patient and tell him or her that you are ready
to begin the physical examination
Basic interviewing techniques
Questioning(询问)
Silence (沉默)
Facilitation(简单化)
Confrontation(面对面)
Interpretation(解释)
Reflection(反省)
Support (支持)
Questioning
Open ended questions
They are used to ask the patient for general information
It is most useful in opening up the interview or for
changing the topic to be discussed
An open-ended question allows the patient to tell his
story spontaneously and does not presuppose a specific
answer
Open-ended questioning
What kind of medical problem are you having?
Can you describe your feelings when you get the pain?
Are you having stomach pain? Tell me about it
Direct questioning
After a period of open-ended questioning, the
interviewer should direct the attention to specific facts
learned during the open-ended question period
This type of question gives the patient little room for
explanation
A direct question can usually be answered in one word or
a brief sentence
Direct questioning
Where does it hurt?
When do you get the burning
How do you compare this pain with your ulcer pain?
Notice: avoid asking direct questions in a manner
that might bias the response
Direct questioning
Symptoms are classically characterized into
several dimensions or elements, including bodily
location, quality, quantity, chronology, setting,
precipitating or palliating factors and associated
manifestations
These elements may be used as a framework to
clarify the illness
Direct questioning
Bodily location
Can you tell me where you feel the pain?
Do you feel it anywhere else?
Onset (chronology)
When did you first notice it?
How long did it last?
Direct questioning
Precipitating factors
What makes it worse?
What seems to bring on the pain?
Palliating factors
What do you do to get more comfortable?
Does lying quietly in bed help you?
Does eating make it better?
Direct questioning
Quality
What does it feel like?
Can you describe the pain?
Radiation
When you get the pain in your chest, do you feel it in any
other part of your body?
When you experience your abdominal pain, do you have
pain in any other area of your body?
Direct questioning
Severity (quantity)
How many times did you vomit?
Can you fall asleep with the pain?
Setting
Does it ever occur at rest?
Does the pain occur with your menstrual cycle?
Direct questioning
Associated manifestation
Do you ever have nausea with the pain?
Have you noticed other changes that happen when
you start to sweat?
O-P-Q-R-S-T
It stands for onset (chronology), precipitating
(palliative), quality, radiation, severity (setting),
and temporal, is useful to help you remember
these important dimensions of a symptom
Question types to avoid
Suggestive question
It may provide the answer to the question
“Do you feel the pain in your left arm when you
get it in your chest?”
A better way to ask the same question would be:
“When you get the pain in your chest, do you
notice it anywhere else?”
Question types to avoid
Why question
It carries tones of accusation (谴责)
This type of question almost always asks a patient to 阿
account for his/her behavior and tends to put the person
on the defensive
Why did you stop taking the medication?
Why did you wait so long to call me?
Try rephrasing the “Why” questions to “What is the
reason…?”
Question types to avoid
Multiple question
The patient can easily become confused and
respond incorrectly, answering no part of the
question adequately
“How many brothers and sisters do you have, and
has any one of them ever had asthma, heart
disease, pneumonia, or tuberculosis?”
Question types to avoid
Medical jargon(行话)
“You seem to have a homonymous(同侧)
hemianopsia(偏盲)”
Leading question or biased question
It carries a suggestion of the kind of response the
interviewer is looking for
Always ask questions in the positive, not the negative
“You don’t have diabetes, do you?”
it should be “Do you have diabetes?”