Chief complaint

The Chief Complaint formally known as CC in the medical field, or termed Presenting Complaint (PC) in the UK, is a concise statement describing the symptom, problem, condition, diagnosis, physician recommended return, or other factor that is the reason for a medical encounter.^[1] The patient's initial comments to a physician, nurse, or other health care professional help form the differential diagnosis.

In some instances, the nature of a patient's chief complaint may determine whether or not services are covered by medical or vision insurance.^[2]

Medical students are advised to use open-ended questions in order to obtain the presenting complaint.^[3]

Other terms sometimes used include Reason for Encounter (RFE), Presenting Problem, Problem on admission and Reason for Presenting.^{[citation needed]}

Prevalence

The collection of chief complaint data may be useful in addressing public health issues.^[4] Certain complaints are more common in certain settings and among certain populations. Fatigue has been reported as one of the ten most common reasons for seeing a physician.^[5] In acute care settings, such as emergency rooms, reports of chest pain are among the most common chief complaints.^[6] The most common complaint in ERs has been reported to be abdominal pain.^[7] Among nursing home residents seeking treatment at ERs, respiratory symptoms, altered mental status, gastrointestinal symptoms, and falls are the most commonly reported.^[8]

CMS required history elements^[9]

Type of history	CC	HPI	ROS	Past, family, and/or social
Problem focused	Required	Brief	N/A	N/A
Expanded problem focused	Required	Brief	Problem pertinent	N/A
Detailed	Required	Extended	Extended	Pertinent
Comprehensive	Required	Extended	Complete	Complete

See also

• Medical history
• Reason for encounter

References

1. ^ http://www.usc.edu/health/uscp/compliance/tm6.html#6
2. ^ Optometric Management
3. ^ sBMJ | Taking a history: Introduction and the presenting complaint
4. ^ http://www.cdc.gov/PHIN/architecture/implementation_guides/Healthcare%20Related/PHIN_Healthcare_Encounter_Chief_Complaint_v231.pdf
5. ^ Nelson E, Kirk J, McHugo G, Douglass R, Ohler J, Wasson J, Zubkoff M. (Summer 1987). "Chief complaint fatigue: a longitudinal study from the patient's perspective". Fam Pract Res J. 6 (4): 175–88. PMID 3455125. 
6. ^ Emergency Medicine
7. ^ Graff LG 4th, Robinson D. (Feb 2001). "Abdominal pain and emergency department evaluation". Emerg Med Clin North Am. 19 (1): 123–36. doi:10.1016/S0733-8627(05)70171-1. PMID 11214394. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=917754. 
8. ^ Ackermann RJ, Kemle KA, Vogel RL, Griffin RC Jr (Jun 1998). "Emergency department use by nursing home residents". Ann Emerg Med. 31 (6): 749–57. doi:10.1016/S0196-0644(98)70235-5. PMID 9624316. 
9. ^ "www.cms.gov". http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/eval_mgmt_serv_guide-ICN006764.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-27. 

External links

• MedEd at Loyola ipm/comphx1/sld003.htm
• Chief+complaint at eMedicine Dictionary