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Medical Concepts

Medical concepts

Our API recognizes various types of medical concepts: symptoms, risk factors, and conditions. Symptoms and risk factors are observations used to describe patient health problems, and our API can suggest conditions as their possible causes.

To interact with our API, you need to know IDs of medical concepts in our knowledge base. We provide endpoints to assist in finding these IDs, extracting them from free-text, and obtaining detailed information about them, as detailed in this and following sections of the documentation.

Endpoints

For each medical concept type, there are two REST-inspired read-only endpoints that support GET requests, returning:

  1. All concepts for a specific age group (e.g. /conditions?age.value=25).
  2. Details of a single concept, if available for a specific age group (e.g. /conditions/c_1?age.value=25).

There are also two similar read-only endpoints that allow querying all medical concept types together (/concepts and /concepts/{id}).

Specifying age

Age is a required parameter for both endpoints because it affects the list of possible medical concepts. Here's how to specify it:

age.unit - optional parameter:

  • It can be either year or month,
  • If not specified, it defaults to year,
  • If age is provided in months, specifying age.unit as month is required. This is especially important for children under 1 year of age, where age must be provided in months.

age.value - required parameter:

  • If age.unit is year, provide a value between 1 and 130,
  • If age.unit is month, provide a value between 0 and 1560.

If age.value is missing, invalid, or set to 0 when age.unit is year (or not specified), you will get a 400 Bad Request error.

Common attributes

Each concept is represented by a JSON object with several attributes. Some attributes are common to all concepts:

  • id – short and unique concept ID,
  • name – professional medical term for the concept,
  • common_name – alternative name in plain language. If common_name is not defined, the API returns name instead.

Please note that endpoints returning a single concept (e.g., /conditions/c_1?age.value=25) may provide more attributes than those returning a list of concepts (e.g., /conditions?age.value=25).

Conditions

Conditions refer to diseases, and other medical disorders defined in our knowledge base. Each condition is assigned a unique ID that begins with the c_ prefix and is followed by an integer, e.g. c_26.

ℹ️

You can explore the list of all available adult and pediatrics conditions.

Endpoints

  1. The /conditions?age.value={age} endpoint responds to GET requests by returning the list of all conditions available for a given age group.

    cURL
    curl "https://api.infermedica.com/v3/conditions?age.value=25" \
  -X "GET" \
  -H "App-Id: XXXXXXXX" \
  -H "App-Key: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
  -H "Interview-Id: d083e76f-3c29-44aa-8893-587f3691c0c5"

  2. The /conditions/{id}?age.value={age} endpoint also responds to GET requests, but returns detailed information about a specific condition identified by the provided ID. If an invalid ID is provided, the endpoint will generate a 404 Not Found error.

    cURL
    curl "https://api.infermedica.com/v3/conditions/c_26?age.value=25" \
  -X "GET" \
  -H "App-Id: XXXXXXXX" \
  -H "App-Key: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
  -H "Interview-Id: d083e76f-3c29-44aa-8893-587f3691c0c5"

Attributes

Apart from id, name and common_name, each condition has several available attributes:

  • sex_filter – filter indicating conditions only valid for one sex; one of both, female, male

  • categories – list of categories the condition belongs to (e.g. Dermatology or Gastroenterology)

  • prevalence – approximate estimate of how common the condition is; one of very_rare, rare, moderate, common

  • acuteness – comparative distinction between acute and chronic conditions; one of chronic, chronic_with_exacerbations, acute_potentially_chronic, acute

  • severity – approximate estimate of how severe the condition is; one of mild, moderate, severe; can be used together with acuteness to alert users, e.g. when an acute and severe condition is suggested by /diagnosis

  • hint – brief bit of advice for patients that recommends the steps to take if a condition is suspected (e.g. Please consult a dermatologist as soon as possible); may be null

  • icd10_code – ICD-10 code of condition; may be null

Example of a JSON object representing a condition, as returned by /conditions/c_26?age.value=25:

JSON
{
  "id": "c_26",
  "name": "Depressive disorder",
  "common_name": "Depression",
  "sex_filter": "both",
  "categories": [
    "Psychiatry"
  ],
  "prevalence": "rare",
  "acuteness": "chronic_with_exacerbations",
  "severity": "severe",
  "extras": {
    "icd10_code": "F32.0, F32.1, F32.2, F32.8, F32.9, F33.0, F33.1, F33.2, F33.8, F33.9",
    "hint": "Please consult a psychiatrist or a psychologist."
  },
  "triage_level": "consultation",
  "recommended_channel": "video_teleconsultation"
}

Symptoms

Symptoms refer to medical signs and symptoms caused by conditions from our knowledge base. IDs of symptoms start with the s_ prefix and are followed by an integer, e.g. s_962.

In our knowledge base, symptoms are organized into a parent-child hierarchy. Each symptom can have a single parent symptom assigned, e.g. severe headache is a child of headache. Each parent-child relation has a type assigned to it. The type of each relation is provided as the parent_relation attribute and describes how the child symptom relates to its parent; e.g. the child may refer to a specific body location (e.g. lumbar back pain or back pain) or an exacerbating factor (e.g. abdominal pain increasing after a meal or abdominal pain).

The parent-child hierarchy of symptoms plays an important role in the symptom assessment process:

  • reporting a child symptom automatically adds its parent symptom to the evidence list,
  • reporting a parent symptom as absent will inform the engine not to ask about its children.
ℹ️

You can explore the list of all available adult and pediatrics symptoms.

Endpoints

  1. The /symptoms?age.value={age} endpoint responds to GET requests by returning the list of all symptoms available for a given age group.

    cURL
    curl "https://api.infermedica.com/v3/symptoms?age.value=25" \
  -X "GET" \
  -H "App-Id: XXXXXXXX" \
  -H "App-Key: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
  -H "Interview-Id: d083e76f-3c29-44aa-8893-587f3691c0c5"

  2. The /symptoms/{id}?age.value={age} endpoint also responds to GET requests, but it only returns detailed information about a single symptom. If an invalid ID is provided, the endpoint will generate a 404 Not Found error.

    cURL
    curl "https://api.infermedica.com/v3/symptoms/s_962?age.value=25" \
  -X "GET" \
  -H "App-Id: XXXXXXXX" \
  -H "App-Key: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
  -H "Interview-Id: d083e76f-3c29-44aa-8893-587f3691c0c5"

Attributes

Like conditions, symptoms have several available attributes (including id, name and common_name):

  • question – question asking the patient to confirm or deny the symptom; may be null for professional symptoms, which are only intended for medical providers and are not used in patient interviews

  • question_third_person – question in third person form, asking the reporter to confirm or deny the symptom; may be null for professional symptoms, which are only intended for medical providers and are not used in patient interviews

  • sex_filter – filter indicating symptoms only valid for one sex: one of both, female, male

  • category – category of the symptom; currently all symptoms are assigned to the same category: Signs and symptoms

  • parent_id – ID of the parent symptom; may be null

  • parent_relation – type of relation with the parent symptom: one of duration, severity, character, exacerbating_factor, diminishing_factor, location, radiation , may be null

  • children – list of child symptoms (symptoms that indicate this symptom as their parent) and their relations with this symptom

  • image_url – URL of an optional image that illustrates this symptom; null by default

  • image_source – source or copyright information for image from image_url attribute; null by default

Example of a JSON object representing a symptom, as returned by /symptoms/s_962?age.value=25:

JSON
{
  "id": "s_962",
  "name": "Dysphagia",
  "common_name": "Difficulty swallowing",
  "question": "Do you find it difficult to swallow food or feel like it gets stuck in your throat or chest?",
  "question_third_person": "Does he|she find it difficult to swallow food or feel like it gets stuck in his|her throat or chest?",
  "sex_filter": "both",
  "category": "Signs and symptoms",
  "seriousness": "normal",
  "extras": {},
  "children": [
    {
      "id": "s_1779",
      "parent_relation": "location"
    },
    {
      "id": "s_1776",
      "parent_relation": "location"
    },
    {
      "id": "s_2571",
      "parent_relation": "severity"
    }
  ],
  "image_url": null,
  "image_source": null,
  "parent_id": null,
  "parent_relation": null
}

Risk factors

Risk factors represent a patient’s chronic conditions (e.g. diabetes), lifestyle factors (e.g. smoking), geographical locations (e.g. Central Africa) and events (e.g. insect bite or head injury) that may modify the baseline probability of conditions. IDs of risk factors start with the p_ prefix (as in predisposition) and are followed by an integer, e.g. p_28.

ℹ️

You can explore the list of all available adult and pediatrics risk factors.

Endpoints

  1. The /risk_factors?age.value={age} endpoint responds to GET requests by returning the list of all risk factors available for given age group.

    cURL
    curl "https://api.infermedica.com/v3/risk_factors?age.value=25" \
  -X "GET" \
  -H "App-Id: XXXXXXXX" \
  -H "App-Key: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
  -H "Interview-Id: d083e76f-3c29-44aa-8893-587f3691c0c5"

  2. The /risk_factors/{id}?age.value={age} endpoint also responds to GET requests, but it only returns detailed information about a single risk factor. If an invalid ID is provided, the endpoint will generate a 404 Not Found error.

    cURL
    curl "https://api.infermedica.com/v3/risk_factors/p_28?age.value=25" \
  -X "GET" \
  -H "App-Id: XXXXXXXX" \
  -H "App-Key: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
  -H "Interview-Id: d083e76f-3c29-44aa-8893-587f3691c0c5"

Attributes

These are the attributes available for a risk factor (including id, name and common_name):

  • question – question asking the patient to confirm or deny the risk factor; may be null for risk factors that should be added automatically based on sex- or age-related risk factors

  • question_third_person – question in third person form, asking the reporter to confirm or deny the risk factor; may be null for risk factors that should be added automatically based on sex- or age-related risk factors

  • sex_filter – filter indicating risk factors only valid for one sex: one of both, female, male

  • category – category of the risk factor; currently all risk factors are assigned to the same category: Risk factors

  • image_url – URL of an optional image that illustrates this risk factor; may be null

  • image_source – source or copyright information for the image from the image\_url attribute; may be null

Example of a JSON object representing a risk factor, as returned by /risk_factors/p_28?age.value=25:

JSON
{
  "id": "p_28",
  "name": "Smoking cigarettes",
  "common_name": "Smoking cigarettes",
  "question": "Do you smoke or have you smoked cigarettes in the past for at least 10 years?",
  "question_third_person": "Does he|she smoke or has he|she smoked cigarettes in the past for at least 10 years?",
  "sex_filter": "both",
  "category": "Risk factors",
  "seriousness": "normal",
  "extras": {},
  "image_url": null,
  "image_source": null
}

Querying all concept types

There are specific use cases where querying all concept types together is practical and efficient, as it eliminates the need for multiple requests to individual concept type endpoints. A typical example is displaying a comprehensive summary of a completed interview, listing all reported symptoms, risk factors, and potential conditions identified during the interview. To support these use cases, two more general endpoints are available – /concepts and /concepts/{id}.

Endpoints

  1. The /concepts endpoint responds to GET requests by returning a list of all available medical concepts.

    Please note that, unlike with other endpoints, the age.value query parameter is not supported here.

    cURL
    curl "https://api.infermedica.com/v3/concepts" \
  -X "GET" \
  -H "App-Id: XXXXXXXX" \
  -H "App-Key: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
  -H "Interview-Id: d083e76f-3c29-44aa-8893-587f3691c0c5"

  2. The /concepts/{id} endpoint also responds to GET requests, returning details for a single medical concept. If an invalid ID is provided, the endpoint will generate a 404 Not Found error.

    cURL
    curl "https://api.infermedica.com/v3/concepts/c_1" \
  -X "GET" \
  -H "App-Id: XXXXXXXX" \
  -H "App-Key: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" \
  -H "Interview-Id: d083e76f-3c29-44aa-8893-587f3691c0c5"

Filtering by types and IDs

The /concepts endpoint supports filtering concepts by their types and IDs, using the types and ids query parameters, respectively. Both parameters can accept either a single value or multiple comma-separated values. The supported types are condition, symptom, and risk_factor.

For example, /concepts?types=symptom,condition would return all symptoms and conditions, while /concepts?ids=c_1,s_1 would return a list containing only the concepts c_1 and s_1. These filters can also be used together; for instance, /concepts?ids=c_1,s_1&types=condition would return a list with the single concept c_1.

Attributes

Both /concepts and /concepts/{id} endpoints return only a minimal set of common attributes, which include id, name, and common_name, as well as:

  • type – the type of the medical concept, which can be one of condition, symptom, or risk_factor.

Example of a JSON object representing a condition, as returned by /concepts/c_1:

JSON
{
  "id": "c_1",
  "type": "condition",
  "name": "Achalasia",
  "common_name": "Achalasia"
}
Interview-IdSearch