A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:
- General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; further:
- Inspection (viewing) of the skin and mucous membranes.
- Auscultation (listening) of the heart
- Auscultation of the lungs
- Neurological examination [due todifferential diagnoses:
- Alcohol dependence
- Huntington’s chorea (synonyms: Huntington’s chorea or Huntington’s disease; older name: St. Vitus’ dance) – genetic disorder that causes, among other things, sweeping movements of the extremities.
- Chronic pain
- Dystonia – umbrella term for neurological disorders in which the mobility of certain regions of the body is disturbed, without this disturbance can be influenced at will.
- Epilepsy – neurological disease that leads to seizures.
- Fatal familial insomnia – genetic disorder leading to progressive insomnia.
- Hereditary ataxia – movement disorders due to genetic condition (symptoms: increasing gait unsteadiness, fine motor disturbance, slurred speech and eye movement disorders).
- Meningitis (meningitis).
- Meningoencephalitis – combined inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and meninges (meningitis).
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) – neurological disease that leads to multiple damage to the central nervous system due to a chronic inflammatory response.
- Narcolepsy – disease that usually begins in childhood and leads to short sleep seizures.
- Parkinson’s syndrome – neurological disease (extrapyramidal syndrome resulting from degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra).
- Restless legs syndrome (restless legs syndrome).
- Schizophrenia – psychiatric disorder that causes changes in thoughts, perception, and behavior]
- Psychiatric examination [due todifferential diagnoses:
- Anxiety disorders
- Burnout syndrome
- Dementia
- Depression
- Drug addiction
- Mania (pathological high spirits)
- Psychosis
- Psychophysiological insomnia – insomnia due to emotional tension]
- Health Check
Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.
