Watchful waiting

Watchful waiting

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][2] active surveillance (especially active surveillance of prostate cancer),[3] and masterly inactivity.[4] The term masterly inactivity is also used in nonmedical contexts.[5]

A distinction can be drawn between watchful waiting and medical observation,[6] but some sources equate the terms.[7][8] Usually, watchful waiting is an outpatient process and may have a duration of months or years. In contrast, medical observation is usually an inpatient process, often involving frequent or even continuous monitoring and may have a duration of hours or days.

  1. ^ Pestana, Carlos (7 April 2020). Pestana's Surgery Notes (Fifth ed.). Kaplan Test Prep. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-1506254340. Signs of a fracture affecting the base of the skull include raccoon eyes, rhinorrhea, and otorrhea or ecchymosis behind the ear. Expectant management is the rule. From our perspective, the significance of a base of the skull fracture is that it indicates that the patient sustained very severe head trauma
  2. ^ "Definition of expectant management - NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms".
  3. ^ "Watchful Waiting or Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer".
  4. ^ Vaile JC, Griffith MJ (September 1997). "Management of asymptomatic aortic stenosis: masterly inactivity but cat-like observation". Heart. 78 (3): 215–7. doi:10.1136/hrt.78.3.215. PMC 484918. PMID 9391278.
  5. ^ "Masterly Inactivity - TIME". Time. 1952-08-18. Archived from the original on January 10, 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  6. ^ "Australian Prostate Cancer Website".
  7. ^ "Prostate cancer guide - MayoClinic.com".
  8. ^ "Definition of watchful waiting - NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms". January 1980.