This book has been prepared by professionals working in the UK and sets out the principles and practice of EBM in primary care diagnosis. Giving guidance on over 100 symptoms and disorders, the book illustrates the fundamental issues: that the value of a history, examination and investigation depends on the patient's prior probability of disease and on the setting and expertise of the doctor. Many chapters feature "red flags" - elements of the history or examination that should alert us to the possibility of serious disease, which are vital for general practice.

Part I. Symptoms
Altered bowel habit
Bleeding in early pregnancy
Breast problems
A cardiac murmur
Chest pain
Constipation
Convulsions in adults
Cough
Deafness
Delirium
Diarrhoea
Dizziness
Dyspepsia
Dyspnoea
Dysuria and other acute urinary symptoms in men
Dysuria, nocturia, frequency and urgency in women
Erectile dysfunction
Fatigue
Fertility problems
Haematuria
Haemoptysis
Headache
Heartburn
Insomnia
Intermittent claudication
Lower urinary tract symptoms in men (LUTS)
A lump in the neck
Memory loss and dementia
Menorrhagia
Neck pain
Pain and tingling in the arm and hand
Pain in the face
Palpitations
A pigmented skin lesion
Pleuritic chest pain
Rectal bleeding
Rhinorrhoea
Sleepiness
The swollen leg
Syncope
Tinnitus
Tremor
Vaginal discharge
Weight loss

Part 2. Disorders
Acute coronary syndrome
Acute respiratory infections
Alcohol misuse
Anaemia
Anxiety disorders
Asthma
Benzodiazepine dependence
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Coeliac disease in adults
Colorectal carcinoma
Depressive illness
Diabetes
Eating disorders
Fibromyalgia
Food allergy
Heart failure
Hypertension
Hyperthyroidism
Hypothyroidism
Irritable bowel syndrome
Lung cancer
Meningitis
Obstructive sleep apnoea
Palliative care
Penicillin allergy
Pericarditis
Pneumothorax
Postnatal depression
Prostate cancer
Pulmonary embolism
Restless legs syndrome
Stable angina
Thrombophilia