Diagnostic Errors

An eight-year-old girl was brought to the emergency department (ED) of a large hospital with a groin injury from a bicycle accident.

The first documented assessment of the patient in the ED revealed a temperature of 97.9 degrees; pulse 53; respirations 20; blood pressure 147/77 mm Hg; oxygen saturation 97%.

The patient claimed that the physician told him that the rectal bleeding was due to his diverticulosis and was not life threatening.

A 16-year-old girl was brought to the emergency department after sustaining a leg injury while playing soccer. X-rays revealed a right bimalleolar ankle fracture dislocation.

On June 1, a 35-year-old woman fell while stepping off a boat, injuring her chin, jaw, wrist, and hand. She went to an urgent-care clinic for treatment.

The patient sought treatment from a dermatologist for a scaly plaque on his scalp

A 62-year old man came to the ED with symptoms of a stroke.

A 72-year-old woman with a history of diabetes went to the emergency department due to pain in her left eye. The ED physician suspected orbital cellulitis, but CBC and CT scans were normal.

A 40-year-old man was referred to an internal medicine physician. The patient reported feeling weak and tired.

A 77-year-old woman with a history of cigarette smoking and COPD came to her family physician reporting a lump in her right breast.

A 40-year-old woman came to her ob-gyn for a well-woman visit. The patient requested breast cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA) testing.

A 64-year-old woman came to the ED. She had undergone back surgery five days earlier.