Treatment which is based on symptoms and clinical experience rather than on a thorough knowledge of the cause of the disorder.
Medical care that is undertaken when a precise diagnosis is uncertain or cannot be determined. For example, for a person with a fever of unknown cause, a doctor may prescribe a course of antibiotics based on experience with comparable cases and clinical judgment as to what may be the most likely cause of the fever.
Empirical treatment refers to a form of treatment administered based solely on the observation of its effectiveness in previous cases that share similarities. In contrast, this approach differs from treatments grounded in a comprehensive understanding of the nature of a disorder and the specific mechanisms by which the chosen treatment method operates.