🔍 Differential Diagnosis Made Easy: Key Conditions for the AMC
One of the biggest challenges in the AMC exams is recognising how to approach differential diagnoses. Examiners want candidates to think broadly, rule out life-threatening conditions, and then narrow down logically to the most likely cause. Mastering this skill improves both MCQ performance and Clinical Exam stations.
1. 🫁 Chest Pain
Always rule out life-threatening causes first.
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Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS)
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Pulmonary embolism
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Pneumothorax
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Aortic dissection
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GORD / musculoskeletal pain (common non-cardiac causes)
📌 AMC Tip: Think in categories: cardiac, respiratory, GI, musculoskeletal.
2. 🫀 Shortness of Breath
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Asthma / COPD exacerbation
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Pneumonia
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Pulmonary embolism
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Heart failure
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Anaemia or metabolic acidosis
📌 AMC Tip: Rapid ABCDE assessment is expected in acute cases.
3. 🧠 Headache
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Subarachnoid haemorrhage
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Meningitis/encephalitis
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Migraine
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Tension-type headache
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Temporal arteritis (in older adults)
📌 AMC Tip: “Red flags” (sudden onset, neuro signs, fever, visual symptoms) must be recognised.
4. 🤒 Fever in Children
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Viral URTI
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Otitis media / tonsillitis
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Urinary tract infection
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Pneumonia
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Meningitis/sepsis
📌 AMC Tip: Never miss meningitis or sepsis – early IV antibiotics are lifesaving.
5. 🤢 Abdominal Pain
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Appendicitis
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Cholecystitis
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Bowel obstruction
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Ectopic pregnancy (in reproductive-age women)
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Gastroenteritis / IBS (benign common causes)
📌 AMC Tip: Always consider age, gender, and red-flag symptoms (bleeding, peritonism).
6. ⚡ Seizures / Loss of Consciousness
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Epilepsy
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Hypoglycaemia
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Syncope (vasovagal, arrhythmia)
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Stroke / TIA
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CNS infection or space-occupying lesion
📌 AMC Tip: Differentiate seizure vs syncope by history (post-ictal state, tongue bite, incontinence).
🗝️ Final Strategy for AMC Candidates
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Use a system-based framework (cardiac, respiratory, neurological, GI, etc.).
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Rule out emergencies first – examiners value patient safety.
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Apply Australian guidelines (eTG, RACGP) for final management decisions.
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Practice with recalls and mock cases to make differential thinking automatic.
Bottom Line: Differential diagnosis in AMC is not about listing every possibility. It is about structured thinking, prioritising emergencies, and choosing the most likely answer given the stem.
