Clinical reasoning in the real world is mediated by bounded rationality: implications for diagnostic clinical practice guidelines.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the reasoning mechanisms used by physicians in decision-making and how this compares to diagnostic clinical practice guidelines. We explored the clinical reasoning process in a real life environment. METHOD: This is a qualitative study evaluating transcriptions of sixteen physicians' reasoning during appointments with patients, clinical discussions between specialists, and personal interviews with physicians affiliated to a hospital in Brazil. RESULTS: FOUR MAIN THEMES WERE IDENTIFIED: simple and robust heuristics, extensive use of social environment rationality, attempts to prove diagnostic and therapeutic hypothesis while refuting potential contradictions using positive test strategy, and reaching the saturation point. Physicians constantly attempted to prove their initial hypothesis while trying to refute any contradictions. While social environment rationality was the main factor in the determination of all steps of the clinical reasoning process, factors such as referral letters and number of contradictions associated with the initial hypothesis had influence on physicians' confidence and determination of the threshold to reach a final decision. DISCUSSION: Physicians rely on simple heuristics associated with environmental factors. This model allows for robustness, simplicity, and cognitive energy saving. Since this model does not fit into current diagnostic clinical practice guidelines, we make some propositions to help its integration.

Perfil das pacientes pós-cirurgia de câncer de mama com síndrome do cordão axilar / Profile of the patients after breast cancer surgery with axillary web syndrome

O câncer de mama representa o segundo tipo mais freqüente no mundo e o que mais causa mortesentre as mulheres. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar, por meio de prontuários fisioterapêuticos emédicos, o perfil das pacientes pós-cirurgia de câncer de mama com axillary web syndrome (AWS)do Hospital de Câncer de Pernambuco e da Faculdade Integrada do Recife (FIR). Das 112 pacientesavaliadas de abril a outubro de 2006, 7,1% apresentaram AWS. A maioria apresentou dore restrição de movimento, e 50% apresentaram linfedema. Metade realizou quadrantectomia e asdemais mastectomia, todas associadas ao esvaziamento axilar. Em 37,5%, a AWS se estendeu atéo antebraço. O tumor mais freqüente foi o carcinoma ductal invasivo e os estadiamentos I e IIapresentaram freqüência de 40%. Todas as pacientes realizaram quimioterapia e 80% realizaramradioterapia associada. Concluí-se, assim, que a AWS é significativa complicação pós-operatória eseus sintomas podem acarretar alterações na qualidade de vida.

Breast cancer represents the second most frequent type of cancer in the world and the one that most causesdeath among women. This study aimed at analyzing the profile of patients from the Cancer Hospital ofPernambuco and from FIR, after a breast cancer surgery with Axillary Web Syndrome (AWS), by meansof medical and physical therapeutic records. Within the 112 evaluated patients from April to Octoberof 2006, 7.1% presented AWS. The majority presented pain and restriction of movement, and 50%presented lymphedema. Half of the patients had a quadrantectomy done, while the remaining ones hada mastectomy, all of them associated with axillary dissection. In 37.5%, AWS reached the forearm. Themost frequent tumor was invasive ductal carcinoma and staging I and II presented frequency of 40%. Allpatients had chemotherapy done, and 80% of these had associated radiotherapy. Thus, it was concludedthat AWS is a significant post surgical complication, and its symptoms may lead to changes in the patient’slife quality.