Medical misdiagnosis: A toxicological perspective

Abstract

Medical Misdiagnosis refers to the failure of a medical professional to recognise an injury or illness in a patient, based on their presenting symptoms and treat them accordingly. A failure to correctly diagnose the patient condition can cause the condition to worsen. In extreme cases, this negligence can result in the patient's death. There are reported cases in literature where the patients were misdiagnosed unknown poisoning cases as acute organophosphate poisoning. Here is a study where the person with pyrethroid poisoning was misdiagnosed as acute organophosphate poisoning and was treated, who subsequently developed persistent ventricular tachycardia and then died due to cardiac arrest in spite of all resuscitative measures. To reduce the incidences of such misdiagnosis, medical persons should act according to the accepted standard of care while making diagnosis and giving the treatment.