Failure to Diagnose Meningitis

Patricia Woloch asked:


The failure to diagnose meningitis is becoming a leading cause of medical malpractice cases. Meningitis is an infection of the membrane surrounding the spinal cord and brain. It is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Bacterial meningitis is far more serious, and may result in brain damage, hearing loss, learning disability or even death.

Early diagnosis and identifying the specific type of bacteria that caused the meningitis is crucial because antibiotics can prevent some types of meningitis from spreading and infecting other people.

Meningitis occurs significantly in college students. It is believed that they may be at greater risk due to shared utensils, active or passive smoking, irregular sleeping patterns, and crowded living conditions such as dormitories. Other high-risk groups include infants and young children, refugees, and military personnel.

Meningitis is often misdiagnosed as something less serious because early symptoms are similar to the flu. Sadly, most of the fatalities associated with meningitis occur because of failure to diagnose the disease early enough.

Symptoms

The symptoms of meningitis are similar for both the bacterial and viral forms of the disease.

In adults and older children

· Fever and chills

· Headache

· Nausea and vomiting

· Stiff neck and body

· Irritability

· Drowsiness

· Sensitivity to light

· Delirium and confusion

· Seizures

· Coma

In infants and young children

· Whimpering and crying, often in a high-pitched tone

· Difficulty in waking or being very lethargic when awake

· Fussiness or discomfort when being held or cuddled

· Arching the back or retracting the neck

· Blank stare

· A high fever

· Cold hands and feet

· Lack of appetite

· Vomiting

· Pale or blotchy appearance

Some reasons for failure to diagnose

An October 2006 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine looked at more than 300 malpractice cases and determined that a failure to order appropriate tests was a problem in 55% of misdiagnosis malpractice claims. The breakdown of factors is:

· 55% fail to order an appropriate diagnostic test

· 45% fail to create a proper follow-up plan

· 42% fail to obtain an adequate history or perform an adequate physical examination

· 37% incorrectly interpret diagnostic tests



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