{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,6]],"date-time":"2026-09-06T01:31:00Z","timestamp":1788658260597,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"SMW Supporting Association","issue":"3738","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2013,9,8]],"date-time":"2013-09-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1378598400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Swiss Med Wkly"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This review  is dedicated to the last century of symptom-oriented research, taking three  symptom complexes as typical examples of medical progress, and focusing on  emergency presentations. Landmark publications in each area are discussed, with  an attempt to focus on the methods used to achieve major breakthroughs.\n        In  abdominal pain, progress was achieved over a century ago by correlating symptoms  and surgical pathology. Most diagnoses were made by using the clinical tools  elaborated with careful observation and clinical examination. Together with the  later reported outcomes, surgeons had an early and powerful tool for  symptom-oriented research.\n        In dyspnoea,  progress was achieved much later, as a universal definition had to be  elaborated over decades by consolidating clinical research, predominantly  symptom-pathology correlation, and experimental research, such as function  testing and experiments with animals and humans.\n        In  nonspecific presentations in emergency situations, progress has been achieved  only recently, most probably owing to the fact that elderly patients are  presenting in steeply increasing numbers, and the hallmark of disease  presentation in the elderly seems to be less specific symptoms and complaints.  This may be caused by altered physiology, polymorbidity, polypharmacy and the multiple  difficulties encountered when taking histories in the elderly.\n        Taken  together, symptom-oriented research has been an important contributor to medical  progress in the last century. Though it may be challenged by image- and  laboratory-oriented research, it will remain part of patient-centred research  because the epidemiology of symptoms, their clinical outcomes and their  diagnostic importance according to severity will be the basis for the  diagnostic process.\n        \u00a0\n        \nKey words: nonspecific disease presentation, symptom-oriented  research, dyspnea, abdominal pain, elderly, geriatric emergency<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4414\/smw.2013.13829","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,7,3]],"date-time":"2014-07-03T10:27:23Z","timestamp":1404383243000},"page":"w13829","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The  last century of symptom-oriented research in emergency presentations \u2013 have we  made any progress?"],"prefix":"10.57187","volume":"143","author":[{"given":"Roland","family":"Bingisser","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christian\u00a0Hans","family":"Nickel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"36756","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,9,8]]},"container-title":["Swiss Medical Weekly"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/smw.ch\/index.php\/smw\/article\/download\/1747\/2376","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/smw.ch\/index.php\/smw\/article\/download\/1747\/2377","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/smw.ch\/index.php\/smw\/article\/download\/1747\/2376","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,15]],"date-time":"2025-08-15T04:56:07Z","timestamp":1755233767000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/smw.ch\/index.php\/smw\/article\/view\/1747"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2013,9,8]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3738","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,9,9]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4414\/smw.2013.13829","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-3997"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-3997","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2013,9,8]]}}}