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Investigation
What is an investigation?
General definition
An investigation is some act intended to aid in diagnosis. It can include:
- Technical acts such as imaging and laboratory tests
- Acts carried out by the clinician, such as examinations
Investigations are usually aimed at diagnosing a condition, as opposed to interventions which are usually intended to treat a condition.
- Note that this distinction is blurred and imprecise
- For example, a diagnosis may be made as a result of some failed or succesful treatment. Or a procedure may both investigate and treat some condition (as in endoscopy).
- For example, staging may involve both an intervention and an investigation.
- The distinction is, however, still felt useful for the purposes of annotation.
- Where the distinction is unclear, annotators should err on the side of annotating mentions as an "investigation"
Examination
Examination is an especially important form of investigation, and should be annotated.
- For example,
- "On examination, there was a fullness in the right supraclavicular fossa and a well healed scar."
- "Examination" should be annotated as an investigation.
What is not an investigation?
General, unspecific acts
General acts such as "identified" and "investigated" will not be annotated
Seeing a patient
The verb "see" often stands in for some unspecified appointment between patient and clinician. The verb "see" will not be annotated as an investigation.
Admistrative acts
Other general terms about appointments and hospital stays will not be annotated. For example, the following will not be annotated:
-
- review
- appointment
- meeting / met