Red Flag Conditions - Guide For Acupuncturists

Front 1

Progressive unexplained symptoms over weeks to months: e.g. weight loss, recurrent sweats (especially at night), fevers and poor appetite.

Back 1

Cancer. High priority referral only if rapidly progressive disease, or if the patient is very anxious.
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Front 2

An unexplained lump: characteristically hard, irregular, fixed and painless

Back 2

Cancerous lumps.
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Front 3

Unexplained bleeding: either from surface of skin, or emerging from an internal organ such as bowel, bladder or uterus.

Back 3

Cancerous tissue of (e.g. of breast, skin, lung, mouth, stomach, bowel, bladder or uterus).
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Front 4

Severe progressive anaemia recurrent progressive infections or bruising, purpura and bleeding

Back 4

Secondary cancer and cancer of blood cells - lymphoma and leukaemia
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Front 5

Multiple enlarged lymph nodes (greater than 1 centimetre in diameter) but painless, with no other obvious cause (e.g. known glandular fever infection).

Back 5

Generalized infectious disease such as glandular fever or HIV/AIDS, disseminated cancer- leukaemia and lymphoma.
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Front 6

A single markedly enlarged lymph node (greater than 2 cm in diameter) with no other obvious cause.

Back 6

Cancerous infiltration can lead to a firm grossly enlarged lymph node which may be painless _ Lymphoma.

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Front 7

Painless abdominal swelling due to fluid accumulation.

Back 7

Initially may be painless indicating colon, stomach and ovarian cancer. Other causes chronic congestive cardiac failure, liver failure and kidney disease.

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