title: When to suspect connective tissue disease.
abstract: When a connective tissue disease is suspected, physical and historical data should be collected to build a case for a clinical syndrome. Negative serologic results may be helpful; positive ones must be used with awareness of their limitations. If a diagnosis is not clinically evident or serologically confirmed, observation may be preferable to overdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment. If the syndrome is atypical, physicians should look for evidence of clinical overlap and reevaluate regularly with an open mind.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Davis Medical Research Center, Columbus, OH 43210-1228.
authors.forename: N P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Hudson
mesh_terms: D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans