| Diagnostic and Statistical Manual | An American Psychiatric Association publication which classifies mental illnesses.Currently in its fourth edition (DSM-IV) and first published in 1952, the manual provides health practitioners with a comprehensive system for diagnosing mental illnesses based on specific ideational and behavioural symptoms. The DSM approach supplants older, less rigorous methods of diagnosis, and as such represents a major step forward for the field of psychiatry. It consists of five axes covering clinical syndromes, developmental and personality disorders, physical disorders, severity of psychosocial stressors, and global assessment of functioning. It is used primarily in the U.S.; elsewhere, the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases is preferred. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| diagnostic techniques and procedures | Methods, procedures, and tests performed to diagnose disease, disordered function, or disability. (12 Dec 1998) |
| diagnostic techniques, obstetrical and gynecological | Methods and procedures for the diagnosis of conditions related to pregnancy, labour, and the puerperium and of diseases of the female genitalia. It includes also demonstration of genital and pregnancy physiology. (12 Dec 1998) |
| biological monitoring | This is the periodic examination of biological specimens for the purposes of monitoring their exposure to or the effects of potentially toxic chemicals to the environment. This is normally done by analysing the amounts of the toxic substances or their metabolites present in body tissues and fluids. The term is also used to mean assessment of the biological status of populations and communities of organisms at risk, in order to protect them and to gain an early warning of possible hazards to human health. (09 Oct 1997) |
| blood gas monitoring, transcutaneous | The noninvasive measurement or determination of the partial pressure (tension) of oxygen and/or carbon dioxide locally in the capillaries of a tissue by the application to the skin of a special set of electrodes. These electrodes contain photoelectric sensors capable of picking up the specific wavelengths of radiation emitted by oxygenated versus reduced haemoglobin. (12 Dec 1998) |
| blood glucose monitoring | A way of testing how much glucose (sugar) is in the blood. A drop of blood, usually taken from the fingertip, is placed on the end of a specially coated strip, called a testing strip. The strip has a chemical on it that makes it change colour according to how much glucose is in the blood. A person can tell if the level of glucose is low, high, or normal in one of two ways. The first is by comparing the colour on the end of the strip to a colour chart that is printed on the side of the test strip container. The second is by inserting the strip into a small machine, called a meter, which reads the strip and shows the level of blood glucose in a digital window display. Blood testing is more accurate than urine testing in monitoring blood glucose levels because it shows what the current level of glucose is, rather than what the level was an hour or so previously. (09 Oct 1997) |
| blood glucose self-monitoring | Self evaluation of whole blood glucose levels outside the clinical laboratory. A digital or battery-operated reflectance meter may be used. It has wide application in controlling unstable insulin-dependent diabetes. (12 Dec 1998) |
| blood pressure monitoring, ambulatory | Method in which prolonged blood pressure readings are made while the patient undergoes normal daily activities. It allows quantitative analysis of the high blood pressure load over time, can help distinguish between types of hypertension, and can assess the effectiveness of antihypertensive therapy. (12 Dec 1998) |
| radiation monitoring | The observation, either continuously or at intervals, of the levels of radiation in a given area, generally for the purpose of assuring that they have not exceeded prescribed amounts or, in case of radiation already present in the area, assuring that the levels have returned to those meeting acceptable safety standards. (12 Dec 1998) |
| monitoring | <investigation> The process of continually checking, observing, recording or testing the operation of some procedure. Monitoring occurs for example during anaesthesia or radiation. (18 Nov 1997) |
| monitoring, ambulatory | The use of electronic equipment to observe or record physiologic processes while the patient undergoes normal daily activities. (12 Dec 1998) |
| monitoring, immunologic | Testing of immune status in the diagnosis and therapy of cancer, immunoproliferative and immunodeficiency disorders, and autoimmune abnormalities. Changes in immune parameters are of special significance before, during and following organ transplantation. Strategies include measurement of tumour antigen and other markers (often by radioimmunoassay), studies of cellular or humoral immunity in cancer aetiology, immunotherapy trials, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |
| monitoring, intraoperative | The constant checking on the state or condition of a patient during the course of a surgical operation (e.g., checking of vital signs). (12 Dec 1998) |
| monitoring, physiologic | The continuous measurement of physiological processes, blood pressure, heart rate, renal output, reflexes, respiration, etc., in a patient or experimental animal; includes pharmacologic monitoring, the measurement of administered drugs or their metabolites in the blood, tissues, or urine. (12 Dec 1998) |
| Holter monitoring | <cardiology, investigation> A test which measures the heart rhythm (ECG) over a 24 hour period of time while the patient records their symptoms and activities in a diary. A small portable ECG device is worn in a pouch around the neck. After the test is complete, a correlation is made between the symptoms (or activities) recorded and the ECG pattern that was obtained simultaneously. (27 Sep 1997) |