The chief complaint, formally known as CC in the medical field, or termed presenting complaint (PC) in Europe and Canada, forms the second step of
medical history
The medical history, case history, or anamnesis (from Greek: ἀνά, ''aná'', "open", and μνήσις, ''mnesis'', "memory") of a patient is a set of information the physicians collect over medical interviews. It involves the patient, and ev ...
taking. It is sometimes also referred to as reason for encounter (RFE), presenting problem, problem on admission or reason for presenting. The chief complaint is a concise statement describing the
symptom
Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition.
Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences.
A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...
, problem,
condition,
diagnosis
Diagnosis (: diagnoses) is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in a lot of different academic discipline, disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " ...
,
physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
-recommended return, or other reason for a medical
encounter. In some instances, the nature of a patient's chief complaint may determine if services are covered by
health insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
.
When obtaining the chief complaint,
medical students are advised to use open-ended questions. Once the presenting problem is elucidated, a
history of present illness can be done using acronyms such as
SOCRATES
Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...
or
OPQRST to further analyze the severity, onset and nature of the presenting problem. The patient's initial comments to a physician,
nurse
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
, or other
health care professionals are important for formulating
differential diagnoses.
Prevalence
The collection of chief complaint data may be useful in addressing
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
issues. Certain complaints are more common in certain settings and among certain populations.
Fatigue
Fatigue is a state of tiredness (which is not sleepiness), exhaustion or loss of energy. It is a signs and symptoms, symptom of any of various diseases; it is not a disease in itself.
Fatigue (in the medical sense) is sometimes associated wit ...
has been reported as one of the ten most common reasons for seeing a physician. In
acute care settings, such as
emergency rooms, reports of
chest pain are among the most common chief complaints. The most common complaint in ERs has been reported to be
abdominal pain
Abdominal pain, also known as a stomach ache, is a symptom associated with both non-serious and serious medical issues. Since the abdomen contains most of the body's vital organs, it can be an indicator of a wide variety of diseases. Given th ...
. Among
nursing home
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...
residents seeking treatment at ERs,
respiratory symptoms, altered mental status,
gastrointestinal symptoms, and
falls are the most commonly reported.
See also
*
Identified patient
Identified patient (IP) is a clinical term often used in family therapy discussion. It describes one family member in a dysfunctional family who is used as an expression of the family's authentic inner conflicts. As a family system is dynamic, th ...
*
Medical history
The medical history, case history, or anamnesis (from Greek: ἀνά, ''aná'', "open", and μνήσις, ''mnesis'', "memory") of a patient is a set of information the physicians collect over medical interviews. It involves the patient, and ev ...
References
External links
*
{{Medical records
Medical terminology
Symptoms