Diagnostic Errors in Pediatric Echocardiography

Abstract

Background-Despite increased interest in complications within pediatric cardiology, the domain of imaging-related diagnostic errors has received little attention. We developed a new taxonomy for diagnostic errors within pediatric echocardiography that categorizes errors by severity, preventability, and primary contributor. Our objectives were to examine its findings when applied to diagnostic error cases and to identify risk factors for preventable or possibly preventable diagnostic errors. Methods and Results-Diagnostic

Unplanned reinterventions are associated with postoperative mortality in neonates with critical congenital heart disease

“…14 The risk factors for such diagnostic errors in our institution include rare diagnoses, greater anatomic complexity, and weight less than 5 kg. 15 Awareness of these data might lead to improvements in diagnostic imaging and a reduced likelihood of reintervention for incomplete preoperative diagnoses. Ten percent of the unplanned reinterventions were undertaken because the initial therapeutic plan was failing in that the patient’s clinical course was not following an expected trajectory despite a technically complete operation.…”

Assessing the Performance of Ultrafast Vector Flow Imaging in the Neonatal Heart via Multiphysics Modeling and <italic>In Vitro</italic> Experiments

“…Doppler-based imaging techniques are currently used in clinical blood flow analysis, such as spectral analysis techniques [Continuous Wave (CW) and Pulsed Wave (PW) Doppler] for local velocities and color-coded techniques Color Flow Imaging (CFI) for flows in a wider field of view. Unfortunately, these flow estimators have inherent limitations, which may lead to faulty diagnoses [6], [7]. First of all, only the velocity component parallel to the ultrasonic beam is captured, neglecting the intrinsic 3-D character of the hemodynamics.…”

Improving Appropriateness and Quality in Cardiovascular Imaging

“…Errors may be related to a variety of reasons, including patient, administrative, procedural, technical factors or communication and cognitive errors. 60 Benavidez et al 61 reviewed 147 000 echocardiograms and found errors in 254 (0.17%) studies. They classified a diagnostic error as a diagnosis that was unintentionally delayed, wrong, or missed.…”