A Common Diagnosis Delayed by Three "Wrong Footing" Anchoring Errors - it is Difficult to Remember What You Have Forgotten.

Abstract

If a patient has unexplained lower left abdominal pain, it is advisable to deploy a "searchlight" strategy.When a hydroureter was found to have no apparent source obstruction, a vertical tracing strategy should have been undertaken to detect its root cause.To avoid the wrong diagnosis through anchoring bias, pivot and cluster strategy - deploying differential diagnosis specific to the initial diagnosis (constipation in this case) - should be adopted at the start, considering the important differential diagnosis and thus preventing a missed diagnosis.