Strategies for diagnosing leg oedema in primary care: A qualitative study of GPs’ approaches

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of German GPs (n = 15), being interviewed on their diagnostic work-up of patients presenting with leg oedema.

Characteristic Gender (GPs)	Number
Male	11
Female	4
Years of clinical experience
< 10	2
10–20	6
> 20	7
Practice location
Urban	5
Rural	10

Table 2. Strategies used by GPs in the diagnostic work-up of patients presenting with leg oedema.

Active strategies	Passive strategies
Taking prevalence of disease into account	Watchful waiting/test of time
Clinical decision rules (scores/algorithms)	Therapy as diagnostic tool
Bayes-Theorem (accumulating probabilities)	Taking patient assumptions into account
Hypothetico-deductive method
Dichotomizing problems
Familiarity versus discrepancy heuristics