Table 3.

Common Final (Correct) Diagnoses in Patients Who Experienced a Diagnostic Error

Final (Correct) DiagnosisPatients
Cancer*33 (16)
Pulmonary embolus13 (6)
Coronary artery disease10 (5)
Aneurysm†8 (4)
Appendicitis6 (3)
Kawasaki disease5 (2)
Meningitis5 (2)
Pneumonia5 (2)
Temporal arteritis/polymyalgia rheumatica5 (2)
Child abuse3 (1)
Other‡109 (54)
Total202 (100)

  • Values provided as n (%).

  • ↵* Lung, n = 5; lymphoma, n = 4; colorectal, n = 4; neuroblastoma, n = 4; ovary, n = 3; other, n = 13.

  • ↵† Thoracic aorta, n = 4; abdominal aorta, n = 3; other, n = 1.

  • ↵‡ Encompasses 88 other final diagnoses.