TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence and Characteristics of Diagnostic Error in Pediatric Critical Care
T2 - A Multicenter Study∗
AU - Cifra, Christina L.
AU - Custer, Jason W.
AU - Smith, Craig M.
AU - Smith, Kristen A.
AU - Bagdure, Dayanand N.
AU - Bloxham, Jodi
AU - Goldhar, Emily
AU - Gorga, Stephen M.
AU - Hoppe, Elizabeth M.
AU - Miller, Christina D.
AU - Pizzo, Max
AU - Ramesh, Sonali
AU - Riffe, Joseph
AU - Robb, Katharine
AU - Simone, Shari L.
AU - Stoll, Haley D.
AU - Tumulty, Jamie Ann
AU - Wall, Stephanie E.
AU - Wolfe, Katie K.
AU - Wendt, Linder
AU - Ten Eyck, Patrick
AU - Landrigan, Christopher P.
AU - Dawson, Jeffrey D.
AU - Reisinger, Heather Schacht
AU - Singh, Hardeep
AU - Herwaldt, Loreen A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/11/1
Y1 - 2023/11/1
N2 - OBJECTIVES: Effective interventions to prevent diagnostic error among critically ill children should be informed by diagnostic error prevalence and etiologies. We aimed to determine the prevalence and characteristics of diagnostic errors and identify factors associated with error in patients admitted to the PICU. DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective cohort study using structured medical record review by trained clinicians using the Revised Safer Dx instrument to identify diagnostic error (defined as missed opportunities in diagnosis). Cases with potential errors were further reviewed by four pediatric intensivists who made final consensus determinations of diagnostic error occurrence. Demographic, clinical, clinician, and encounter data were also collected. SETTING: Four academic tertiary-referral PICUs. PATIENTS: Eight hundred eighty-two randomly selected patients 0-18 years old who were nonelectively admitted to participating PICUs. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of 882 patient admissions, 13 (1.5%) had a diagnostic error up to 7 days after PICU admission. Infections (46%) and respiratory conditions (23%) were the most common missed diagnoses. One diagnostic error caused harm with a prolonged hospital stay. Common missed diagnostic opportunities included failure to consider the diagnosis despite a suggestive history (69%) and failure to broaden diagnostic testing (69%). Unadjusted analysis identified more diagnostic errors in patients with atypical presentations (23.1% vs 3.6%, p = 0.011), neurologic chief complaints (46.2% vs 18.8%, p = 0.024), admitting intensivists greater than or equal to 45 years old (92.3% vs 65.1%, p = 0.042), admitting intensivists with more service weeks/year (mean 12.8 vs 10.9 wk, p = 0.031), and diagnostic uncertainty on admission (77% vs 25.1%, p < 0.001). Generalized linear mixed models determined that atypical presentation (odds ratio [OR] 4.58; 95% CI, 0.94-17.1) and diagnostic uncertainty on admission (OR 9.67; 95% CI, 2.86-44.0) were significantly associated with diagnostic error. CONCLUSIONS: Among critically ill children, 1.5% had a diagnostic error up to 7 days after PICU admission. Diagnostic errors were associated with atypical presentations and diagnostic uncertainty on admission, suggesting possible targets for intervention.
AB - OBJECTIVES: Effective interventions to prevent diagnostic error among critically ill children should be informed by diagnostic error prevalence and etiologies. We aimed to determine the prevalence and characteristics of diagnostic errors and identify factors associated with error in patients admitted to the PICU. DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective cohort study using structured medical record review by trained clinicians using the Revised Safer Dx instrument to identify diagnostic error (defined as missed opportunities in diagnosis). Cases with potential errors were further reviewed by four pediatric intensivists who made final consensus determinations of diagnostic error occurrence. Demographic, clinical, clinician, and encounter data were also collected. SETTING: Four academic tertiary-referral PICUs. PATIENTS: Eight hundred eighty-two randomly selected patients 0-18 years old who were nonelectively admitted to participating PICUs. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of 882 patient admissions, 13 (1.5%) had a diagnostic error up to 7 days after PICU admission. Infections (46%) and respiratory conditions (23%) were the most common missed diagnoses. One diagnostic error caused harm with a prolonged hospital stay. Common missed diagnostic opportunities included failure to consider the diagnosis despite a suggestive history (69%) and failure to broaden diagnostic testing (69%). Unadjusted analysis identified more diagnostic errors in patients with atypical presentations (23.1% vs 3.6%, p = 0.011), neurologic chief complaints (46.2% vs 18.8%, p = 0.024), admitting intensivists greater than or equal to 45 years old (92.3% vs 65.1%, p = 0.042), admitting intensivists with more service weeks/year (mean 12.8 vs 10.9 wk, p = 0.031), and diagnostic uncertainty on admission (77% vs 25.1%, p < 0.001). Generalized linear mixed models determined that atypical presentation (odds ratio [OR] 4.58; 95% CI, 0.94-17.1) and diagnostic uncertainty on admission (OR 9.67; 95% CI, 2.86-44.0) were significantly associated with diagnostic error. CONCLUSIONS: Among critically ill children, 1.5% had a diagnostic error up to 7 days after PICU admission. Diagnostic errors were associated with atypical presentations and diagnostic uncertainty on admission, suggesting possible targets for intervention.
KW - critical care
KW - diagnostic error
KW - patient safety
KW - pediatrics
KW - quality improvement
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85175185349&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005942
DO - 10.1097/CCM.0000000000005942
M3 - Article
C2 - 37246919
AN - SCOPUS:85175185349
SN - 0090-3493
VL - 51
SP - 1492
EP - 1501
JO - Critical care medicine
JF - Critical care medicine
IS - 11
ER -