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Delayed Clinical Presentation

Meaning

Delayed Clinical Presentation refers to a situation where a patient seeks medical evaluation for a health condition significantly after the onset of symptoms, often resulting in the disease being diagnosed at a more advanced or complicated stage. This delay can stem from various patient-related factors, such as fear, misinterpretation of symptoms, or socioeconomic barriers, or from system-related factors like difficulty accessing care or misdiagnosis. Delayed presentation is a critical factor influencing prognosis and treatment complexity across many medical disciplines. Early detection is often the key to simpler and more effective therapeutic outcomes.