Revista Cubana de Medicina Militar (Jun 2023)
Pediatrics and the clinical method
Abstract
Introduction: The clinical method, is the scientific method applied to the individual care of a patient. Its use in the pediatric specialty has specific characteristics, due to the relationship established between the physician, the patient and the parents or guardians. A narrative bibliographic review was carried out, with articles from the last 10 years, in Spanish and English, in the SciELO database and others, through a general search with Google Scholar. Objective: To analyze the particularities and current trends of the clinical method in the specialty of pediatrics. Development: The clinical method is important in any medical specialty to facilitate diagnosis; the doctor-patient relationship stands out in this method. In pediatrics this relationship goes beyond, as it includes parents or guardians, due to the characteristics of the pediatric patient. No procedure or instrumentation can replace the adequate interrelation between these elements, which constitute the basic strategy for the application of the clinical method in this specialty. The most frequent errors in the application of this method are also analyzed. Conclusions: It is concluded that, although technology is overvalued and less use of the clinical method is appreciated in medical practice in general and pediatrics in specific, it is a fundamental tool, which should be stimulated from training and its daily use in healthcare practice.
