All clinicians, regardless of their specialty,
encounter patients with weakness, altered sensation,
headaches, ''spells'', dizziness, sleepiness, mental
status changes, and other symptoms that reflect
dysfunction of one or more parts of the nervous system.
Clinicians need to know how to evaluate such patients,
how to determine if the patients are likely to have a
neurologic condition, and how to manage them, at least
in the initial stages. This book, written by the lead
author of the widely cited Neurology Clerkship Core
Curriculum, covers the material that clinicians need to
know in order to assess and manage the patients they
will encounter in general medical practice. The focus
throughout is on the ''how'' and ''why'' of clinical
neurology. Naturally, the book includes extensive
factual material about individual disease processes, but
the emphasis is on information that is important for
understanding why patients with neurologic conditions
are managed the way they are. The first three chapters
of the book present a systematic way to think about
patients with neurologic symptoms, applying a logical
approach to diagnosis rather than relying on pattern
recognition.Because the neurologic examination is
fundamental to diagnosis, this book provides a detailed
description of how to perform each step of the
examination and an even more extensive discussion of how
to interpret the findings. The remaining chapters cover
the management of specific disease categories and
symptoms, always stressing the reasons for doing
particular tests and the rationale for the various
treatment options. Although the book does not cite the
original literature, it reflects the most current
evidence available at the time of publication. |
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