Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In epidemiology, a clinical case definition, [1] a clinical definition, or simply a case definition [2] lists the clinical criteria by which public health professionals determine whether a person's illness is included as a case in an outbreak investigation—that is, whether a person is considered directly affected by an outbreak.
Epidemiological (and other observational) studies typically highlight associations between exposures and outcomes, rather than causation. While some consider this a limitation of observational research, epidemiological models of causation (e.g. Bradford Hill criteria) [7] contend that an entire body of evidence is needed before determining if an association is truly causal. [8]
The index case or patient zero is the first documented patient in a disease epidemic within a population, [1] or the first documented patient included in an epidemiological study. [2] It can also refer to the first case of a condition or syndrome (not necessarily contagious) to be described in the medical literature, whether or not the patient ...
Case series have a descriptive study design; unlike studies that employ an analytic design (e.g. cohort studies, case-control studies or randomized controlled trials), case series do not, in themselves, involve hypothesis testing to look for evidence of cause and effect (though case-only analyses are sometimes performed in genetic epidemiology ...
In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent.
Conversely, in experimental studies, the epidemiologist is the one in control of all of the factors entering a certain case study. [43] Epidemiological studies are aimed, where possible, at revealing unbiased relationships between exposures such as alcohol or smoking, biological agents , stress , or chemicals to mortality or morbidity .
Porta's Dictionary of Epidemiology defines the case–control study as: "an observational epidemiological study of persons with the disease (or another outcome variable) of interest and a suitable control group of persons without the disease (comparison group, reference group). The potential relationship of a suspected risk factor or an ...
Clinical epidemiology is a subfield of epidemiology specifically focused on issues relevant to clinical medicine. The term was first introduced by virologist John R. Paul in his presidential address to the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 1938. [1] [2] It is sometimes referred to as "the basic science of clinical medicine". [3]