Almost one death in five in a well-regarded medical intensive care unit (MICU) was misdiagnosed, and in almost half the cases a correct diagnosis would have resulted in different treatment, a recent study has found.
Researchers reviewed the records of 1800 admissions during a 2-year period to the MICU at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio. Their findings were published last month (Chest. 2001;119:530-536).
Of the 1800 patients admitted, 401 died. Autopsies were performed on 91 of these patients. Those who underwent autopsy were younger than those who did not, but there were no other significant differences.
Of those undergoing postmortem examination, 18 of 91 were found to have a different diagnosis from that which was made clinically. The diagnostic errors were classified in two categories. Class 1 errors were major misdiagnoses with direct impact on therapy. Class 2 diagnostic errors comprised major unexpected findings that, according . . . [Full Text of this Article]
