Avoiding Misdiagnosis in Patients with Neurological Emergencies

Avoiding Misdiagnosis in Patients with Neurological Emergencies

Approximately 5% of patients presenting to emergency departments have neurological symptoms. The most common symptoms or diagnoses include headache, dizziness, back pain, weakness, and seizure disorder. Little is known about the actual misdiagnosis of these patients, which can have disastrous conseq...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jennifer V. Pope, Jonathan A. Edlow
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2012-01-01
Series:Emergency Medicine International
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/949275
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spelling doaj-da31741519ce443894e1f075b71b13482020-11-24T22:26:00ZengHindawi LimitedEmergency Medicine International2090-28402090-28592012-01-01201210.1155/2012/949275949275Avoiding Misdiagnosis in Patients with Neurological EmergenciesJennifer V. Pope0Jonathan A. Edlow1Department of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USADepartment of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USAApproximately 5% of patients presenting to emergency departments have neurological symptoms. The most common symptoms or diagnoses include headache, dizziness, back pain, weakness, and seizure disorder. Little is known about the actual misdiagnosis of these patients, which can have disastrous consequences for both the patients and the physicians. This paper reviews the existing literature about the misdiagnosis of neurological emergencies and analyzes the reason behind the misdiagnosis by specific presenting complaint. Our goal is to help emergency physicians and other providers reduce diagnostic error, understand how these errors are made, and improve patient care.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/949275
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jennifer V. Pope
Jonathan A. Edlow
spellingShingle Jennifer V. Pope
Jonathan A. Edlow
Avoiding Misdiagnosis in Patients with Neurological Emergencies
Emergency Medicine International
author_facet Jennifer V. Pope
Jonathan A. Edlow
author_sort Jennifer V. Pope
title Avoiding Misdiagnosis in Patients with Neurological Emergencies
title_short Avoiding Misdiagnosis in Patients with Neurological Emergencies
title_full Avoiding Misdiagnosis in Patients with Neurological Emergencies
title_fullStr Avoiding Misdiagnosis in Patients with Neurological Emergencies
title_full_unstemmed Avoiding Misdiagnosis in Patients with Neurological Emergencies
title_sort avoiding misdiagnosis in patients with neurological emergencies
publisher Hindawi Limited
series Emergency Medicine International
issn 2090-2840
2090-2859
publishDate 2012-01-01
description Approximately 5% of patients presenting to emergency departments have neurological symptoms. The most common symptoms or diagnoses include headache, dizziness, back pain, weakness, and seizure disorder. Little is known about the actual misdiagnosis of these patients, which can have disastrous consequences for both the patients and the physicians. This paper reviews the existing literature about the misdiagnosis of neurological emergencies and analyzes the reason behind the misdiagnosis by specific presenting complaint. Our goal is to help emergency physicians and other providers reduce diagnostic error, understand how these errors are made, and improve patient care.
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/949275
work_keys_str_mv AT jennifervpope avoidingmisdiagnosisinpatientswithneurologicalemergencies
AT jonathanaedlow avoidingmisdiagnosisinpatientswithneurologicalemergencies
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