Watchful waiting

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Watchful waiting (also watch and wait or WAW) is an approach to a medical problem in which time is allowed to pass before medical intervention or therapy is used. During this time, repeated testing may be performed.

Related terms include "expectant management"[1], "active surveillance" and "masterly inactivity".[2] The term masterly inactivity is used also in nonmedical contexts.[3]

A distinction can be drawn between "watchful waiting" and "medical observation",[4] but some sources equate the terms.[5][6] Usually, watchful waiting is an outpatient process and it may have a duration of months or years. In contrast, medical observation usually is an inpatient process, often involving frequent or even continuous monitoring, and may have a duration of hours or days.

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[edit] Uses

Often watchful waiting is recommended in situations with a high likelihood of self-resolution, in situations where there is high uncertainty concerning the diagnosis, and in situations where the risks of intervention or therapy may outweigh the benefits.

Watchful waiting is often recommended for many common illnesses such as ear infections[7]; because the majority of cases resolve spontaneously, antibiotics will often be prescribed only after several days of symptoms. It is also a strategy frequently used in surgery prior to a possible operation,[8] when it is possible for a symptom (for example abdominal pain) to either improve naturally or become worse.

Other examples involve:


[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ ACS :: Expectant Management (Watchful Waiting).
  2. ^ Vaile JC, Griffith MJ (September 1997). "Management of asymptomatic aortic stenosis: masterly inactivity but cat-like observation". Heart 78 (3): 215–7. PMID 9391278. 
  3. ^ Masterly Inactivity - TIME.
  4. ^ Australian Prostate Cancer Website.
  5. ^ Prostate cancer guide - MayoClinic.com.
  6. ^ Definition of watchful waiting - NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms.
  7. ^ American Academy of Pediatrics
  8. ^ Kendall C, Murray S (April 2006). "Is watchful waiting a reasonable approach for men with minimally symptomatic inguinal hernia?". CMAJ 174 (9): 1263–4. doi:10.1503/cmaj.060299. PMID 16636325. 
  9. ^ Meredith LS, Cheng WJ, Hickey SC, Dwight-Johnson M (January 2007). "Factors associated with primary care clinicians' choice of a watchful waiting approach to managing depression". Psychiatr Serv 58 (1): 72–8. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.58.1.72-a. PMID 17215415. 
  10. ^ Varrasso DA, Ashe D, Ruben R, Propp R (August 2006). "Watchful waiting for acute otitis media: are parents and physicians ready?". Pediatrics 118 (2): 849–50. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-2786. PMID 16882857. 

[edit] External links

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