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COVID Blindness: Delayed Diagnosis of Aseptic Meningitis in the COVID-19 Era

Taku Harada1,2, Takashi Watari3, Taiju Miyagami4

  • 1Division of General Medicine, Showa University Koto Toyosu Hospital, Toyosu Koto-ku, Japan.

European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine
|November 16, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Diagnostic errors, including aseptic meningitis, can occur due to cognitive biases like anchoring, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare providers must assess diagnostic processes and employ debiasing strategies to ensure accurate patient care.

Area of Science:

  • Medical diagnosis
  • Cognitive bias in healthcare
  • Infectious disease epidemiology

Background:

  • Diagnostic errors pose a significant risk in healthcare settings.
  • Cognitive biases can impair clinical decision-making, leading to misdiagnoses.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic presents unique challenges to healthcare delivery and diagnostic accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the impact of cognitive bias, specifically anchoring bias, on diagnostic accuracy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • To present a case study of delayed diagnosis due to cognitive bias.
  • To emphasize the need for enhanced diagnostic strategies in the current healthcare climate.

Main Methods:

  • Case report detailing a patient's journey through multiple healthcare visits.
  • Analysis of the diagnostic process, identifying potential cognitive biases.
  • Review of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical judgment.

Main Results:

  • A case of aseptic meningitis was initially misdiagnosed over five healthcare visits.
  • Anchoring bias was identified as a contributing factor to the diagnostic delay.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic environment exacerbated the risk of diagnostic errors.

Conclusions:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic can disrupt healthcare systems, increasing susceptibility to diagnostic errors like anchoring bias.
  • Healthcare providers must critically evaluate diagnostic reasoning and consider potential biases.
  • Implementing diagnostic debiasing strategies is crucial for mitigating errors during public health crises.
Keywords:
COVID blindnessCOVID-19diagnostic error

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