Barts Health, Consultant in Special Care Dentistry, The Royal London Dental Hospital, London, UK.
Barts Health, Lead Nurse for Learning Disability, The Royal London Hospital, London, UK.
Br Dent J. 2019 Aug;227(4):311-315. doi: 10.1038/s41415-019-0623-x.
Diagnostic overshadowing can be described as a concept whereby symptoms of physical ill health are mistakenly attributed by healthcare professionals to either a mental health or behavioural problem, or as being inherent in the person's disability. This can lead to a failure to diagnose and treat appropriately. Although widely discussed in medicine, this issue has not been previously highlighted in the dental speciality, yet it can lead to significantly detrimental general and oral health outcomes for vulnerable patients. This article focuses on the care of patients with learning disabilities and the prevention of diagnostic overshadowing in dentistry through the application of reasonable adjustments to care and education within the dental team.
诊断遮蔽可以被描述为一种概念，即医疗保健专业人员错误地将身体不适的症状归因于心理健康或行为问题，或者认为这些症状是患者残疾的固有特征。这可能导致诊断和治疗不当。尽管在医学领域广泛讨论，但这个问题在牙科专业中以前并未得到强调，但它可能会对弱势群体患者的整体和口腔健康产生重大不利影响。本文通过在牙科团队中对护理和教育进行合理调整，关注学习障碍患者的护理和预防牙科中的诊断遮蔽问题。
