Sign

In medicine, a sign is something that can be detected or measured, in contrast to a symptom, which is generally a subjective experience of disease. For example, a sign might be something such as blood in the stool, a skin rash that can be recognised by a doctor, or a high body temperature. A symptom, on the other hand, can only be experienced (or sensed) and reported by the patient, such as stomach ache, lower-back pain, and fatigue. Sometimes, a sign may not be noticed by the patient, but is meaningful and helpful for the doctor for diagnosis. For example:

A rash – this could be a sign, symptom, or both:

If the patient notices the rash it is a symptom.

If the doctor, nurse or anyone else (but not the patient) notices the rash it is a sign.

If both the patient and doctor notice the rash it is both a sign and a symptom.

A light headache – this can only be a symptom:

A light headache can only be a symptom because it is only ever detected by the patient.

Glossary: Récurrence
Glossary: Adverse event [AE]
Paediatric medicine: Special considerations
Special considerations must be taken into account in the development of paediatric medicine, including in terms of research and trial design and ethical concerns.
The power of the patient voice in research
The power of the patient voice is phenomenal, and inspires, motivates, informs, challenges and advises us during our awareness seminars. It may sound simple – share your experience and raise awareness; however the patient voice goes far beyond story-telling. Many patients reveal the challenges they have faced getting a proper diagnosis, what taking medicines is like, how it is to be a clinical trial participant, the hurdles of getting access to medicines, the side effects of treatment, remembering to a take their medicine(s), their unmet needs and what they’d like to see from future medicines and research.
Glossary: Patient-Reported Outcome Measures [PROM]

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