5 Ds

Q: What are the 5 Ds in Medicine?

Answer: At all levels of medical care and preventions (primary, secondary, and tertiary), in general physicians strive to prevent 5 Ds:

• death
• disease
• disability
• discomfort
• dissatisfaction

Primary prevention: to keep the disease from occurring at all.

Secondary prevention: to detect disease early at the asymptomatic stage and prevent it from progressing.

Tertiary prevention: to prevent further deterioration and complications.

#general-concepts

References:

1. Prevention. In: Clinical Epidemiology: The Essentials, 6th ed, Fletcher G (Ed), Lippincott Williams and Wilkins 2020.

2. Grant S Fletcher, Evidence-based approach to prevention: UpTodate: Last updated: Feb 17, 2022. Link: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/evidence-based-approach-to-prevention