Early, Accurate Diagnosis of Strokes is Critical
Rapid diagnosis of a stroke can mean the difference between walking out of a hospital or spending a lifetime disabled.
March 12, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Early, Accurate Diagnosis of Strokes is Critical
A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that doctors make frequent diagnostic errors that can cause injuries to patients and result in medical malpractice litigation. Many of the errors involve major medical emergencies, including strokes, heart attacks and adverse drug reactions.
Misdiagnosis of strokes account for 2.6 percent of the observed errors, researchers said.
Strokes are major assaults on the human brain that kill approximately 160,000 Americans each year.
The most common kind of stroke involves a clot that cuts off blood to part of the brain. The less common stroke type -- accounting for about 15 percent of all strokes -- involves a brain hemorrhage.
Rapid diagnosis of a stroke can mean the difference between walking out of a hospital or spending a lifetime disabled.
Stroke Symptoms
If you believe you or a loved one is experiencing a stroke, contact emergency medical help immediately.
Stroke symptoms can include the following:
-Weakness, tingling or numbness on one side of the body
-Blurred vision or no vision
-Difficulty talking or understanding others
-Dizziness or loss of balance
-A severe headache
Stroke Diagnosis
Stroke diagnosis commonly includes the following procedures:
-A neurological exam
-Blood tests
-Tests such as CT (computed tomography) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans, Doppler ultrasound or arteriography (angiography)
The study of diagnostic errors reported 28 percent of the cases were major; 41 percent moderate and 31 percent were categorized as minor.
Autopsy data included in the study indicates physician diagnosis error rates of 10 percent to 15 percent, with pulmonary embolism and drug reactions and overdoses as the most common diagnostic errors.
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