MISDIAGNOSIS COMMON IN ICU DEATHS

An alarming one-in-five patients who die after being treated in a medical intensive care unit (ICU) were misdiagnosed, researchers report.

Investigators pooled data on 401 patients who died in an ICU during 1994 or 1995 - 91 of who underwent autopsy. Autopsy results showed a 19.8% discordance rate between clinical and postmortem diagnosis. In 44.4% of these cases, knowledge of the correct diagnosis would have altered treatment indications.

Chest ­ February 2001;119:530-6. http://www.chestnet.org/

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