Difficult diagnosis. Clinical analysis of pneumonia overdiagnosis case.

Abstract

Despite advances in modern medicine, the prevalence and mortality rates from pneumonia remain high, and the frequency of diagnostic errors ranges from 20 to 50%. This trend to increased morbidity and mortality heads the list in problems of early diagnosis, timely and adequate antibiotic therapy of pneumonia. The greatest attention is given to problems of pneumonia hypodiagnostics, while questions of its hyperdiagnostics, especially by narrow specialists, remain unaddressed. This article discusses the most common causes of pneumonia overdiagnosis at various stages of patients’ management, namely the evaluation of clinical symptoms, assess ment of radiological data and at the stage of additional diagnostic program. On the example of a clinical case, basic errors in diagnostic tactics in case of atypical course of cardiac pathology, which have led to the mistaken diagnosis of pneumonia are considered.