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Acute Disease

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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

Synonyms

Acute care; Acute condition; Acute illness; Acute infection

Definition

Acute diseases tend to have very quick onsets and typically last for only a brief period. By defining a disease as an acute disease, it does not necessarily address the severity of the disease. In fact, it typically only refers to the length of the disease or illness. Acute diseases, as opposed to chronic diseases, include a very rapid onset and/or a short course. Acute diseases can occur throughout all bodily systems. Examples of acute diseases include appendicitis, acute leukemia, and strep throat. Some acute diseases do not require hospitalization or medical treatments, such as influenza, whereas others, such as pneumonia and acute myocardial infarction, may require medical attention and extended treatment.

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Disease Onset

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References and Readings

  • Fisher, S. R., Goodwin, J. S., Protas, E. J., Kuo, Y-F., Graham, J. E., Ottenbacher, K. J., & Ostir, G. V. (2010). ERRATUM. Ambulatory activity of older adults hospitalized with acute medical illness. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 59(4), 777.

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  • Knaus, W. A., Draper, E. A., Wagner, D. P., & Zimmerman, J. E. (1985). Apache II: A severity of disease classification system. Critical Care Medicine, 13(10), 818–829.

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  • Knaus, W. A., Zimmerman, J. E., Wagner, D. P., Draper, E. A., Elizabeth, A., & Lawrence, D. E. (1981). Apache: Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation: A physiologically based classification system. Critical Care Medicine, 9(8), 591–597.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioethics, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA

    Amy Jo Marcano-Reik Ph.D. (Post-Doctoral Researcher)

  2. Center for Genetic Research Ethics and Law, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA

    Amy Jo Marcano-Reik Ph.D. (Post-Doctoral Researcher)

Authors
  1. Amy Jo Marcano-Reik Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy Jo Marcano-Reik Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

  2. Cardiovascular Safety, Quintiles, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Rick Turner

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York

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Marcano-Reik, A.J. (2013). Acute Disease. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1202

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1202

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

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