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Researchers recommend doctors not to ignore 'sixth sense'
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Medical intuition can sometimes be very useful, so scientists recommend not to ignore the “sixth sense” that doctors have.
Sometimes there are situations when the attending physician, not finding symptoms of a particular disease, still feels that something is wrong with his patient. Oxford researchers, as well as their colleagues from Belgium, advise not to brush off such feelings, because despite all the tests that may not show the presence of an infection in the human body, the doctor's "sixth sense" is able to accurately assess the threat to the patient's health.
This is especially true when it comes to treating small children who cannot fully communicate their feelings and pain to doctors, and therefore it is very difficult to diagnose a child; sometimes it is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Children aged from several months to 16 years took part in the scientists’ experiment.
In addition to the general principles of the examination, the doctors’ impressions were also recorded, even if, according to the tests obtained, the child’s health was not in danger.
Of the 3,369 children without serious illnesses at the time of the survey, 0.2% were hospitalized due to serious infections.
The results suggest that medical intuition has merit, because if it is listened to, on average, serious illnesses can be detected in time in two out of six children that would not normally be diagnosed.
The likelihood of developing a serious infection in this case dropped from 0.2% to 0.1%.
The authors also found that doctors' "gut feeling" was strongly influenced by parental concerns, with less experienced doctors reporting their suspicions more often than their older colleagues.
Experts recommend that doctors not “suppress” intuitive suspicions about the health of patients, because this, one way or another, is a very important diagnostic method.
In addition, it is good if the doctors’ fears are not confirmed and the patient’s health is not in any serious danger, but if the medical worker’s intuition does not fail him, then, even with a very low probability, a person’s life can be saved.