Common diagnoses in internal medicine in Europe 2009: a pan-European, multi-centre survey

Abstract

Objective: Information on the medical problems and diseases encountered by practicing Internists in the hospital environment is lacking. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of various diagnostic categories that present to internists in the hospital setting in Europe.

Design: A pan-European study used the Young Internists Research Network of the European Federation of Internal Medicine.

Results: Data on 1501 patients from 31 physicians in 18 European countries were included in the study. The patients carried an average of 2.75 (+/-2.22) chronic medical diagnoses, ranging from 0 to 18. The most common presenting complaint was shortness of breath, followed by chest pain and abdominal pain. A cardiac condition was most common, followed by infectious disease. The complexity of patients averaged 2.5 (+/-1.14).

Conclusions: The results of this study will be useful for the development of a modern internal medicine curriculum, both at the graduate and postgraduate level, which reflects the competencies required for the delivery of comprehensive patient care in internal medicine wards.