page_title: Asymptomatic
hierarchical_section_title: Asymptomatic
caption_attribution_description: English: Modified version of Image:Pulmonary contusion CT.jpg, a CT scan of a patient with a "partially-cystic, partially fluid-filled structure" (dark spot near spine on middle-right hand lower portion of image), a rib fracture (lower righthand portion of image), and "subpleural hemorrhage representing a pulmonary contusion (lighter area near rib fracture in lower right hand portion of image, indicated by red arrow), as described at LearningRadiology.com. Blue arrow points to rib fracture.
context_page_description: In medicine, a disease is considered asymptomatic if a patient is a carrier for a disease or infection but experiences no symptoms. A condition might be asymptomatic if it fails to show the noticeable symptoms with which it is usually associated. Asymptomatic infections are also called subclinical infections. Other diseases might be considered subclinical if they present some but not all of the symptoms required for a clinical diagnosis. The term clinically silent is also used.
  Knowing that a condition is asymptomatic is important because:
  It may develop symptoms later and only then require treatment.
  It may resolve itself or become benign.
  It may be contagious
  It is not required that a person undergo treatment. It does not cause later medical problems such as high blood pressure and hyperlipidaemia.
  Be alert to possible problems: asymptomatic hypothyroidism makes a person vulnerable to Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome or beri-beri following intravenous glucose.
  An example of an asymptomatic disease is Cytomegalovirus which is a member of the herpes virus. "It is estimated that 1% of all newborns are infected with CMV, but the majority of infections are asymptomatic."
context_section_description: In medicine, a disease is considered asymptomatic if a patient is a carrier for a disease or infection but experiences no symptoms. A condition might be asymptomatic if it fails to show  the noticeable symptoms with which it is usually associated. Asymptomatic infections are also called subclinical infections.  Other diseases (such as mental illnesses) might be considered subclinical if they present some but not all of the symptoms required for a clinical diagnosis.  The term clinically silent is also used.
  Knowing that a condition is asymptomatic is important because:
  It may develop symptoms later and only then require treatment.
  It may resolve itself or become benign.
  It may be contagious
  It is not required that a person undergo treatment. It does not cause later medical problems such as high blood pressure and hyperlipidaemia.
  Be alert to possible problems: asymptomatic hypothyroidism makes a person vulnerable to Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome or beri-beri following intravenous glucose.
  An example of an asymptomatic disease is Cytomegalovirus (CMV) which is a member of the herpes virus.  "It is estimated that 1% of all newborns are infected with CMV, but the majority of infections are asymptomatic." (Knox, 1983; Kumar et al. 1984) In some diseases, the proportion of asymptomatic cases can be important. For example, in multiple sclerosis it is estimated that around 25% of the cases are asymptomatic, being these cases detected postmortem or just by coincidence (as incidental findings) while treating other diseases.
caption: Pulmonary contusion due to trauma is an example of a condition that can be asymptomatic with half of people showing no signs at the initial presentation since such symptoms can take time to develop. The CT scan shows a pulmonary contusion (red arrow) accompanied by a rib fracture (purple arrow).
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