What is a missed or delayed stroke diagnosis?
A missed or delayed stroke diagnosis can have serious adverse
effects, including brain damage, paralysis, permanent disabilities,
and even death. Because of these serious adverse effects, it is
important for stroke to be considered and ruled out when a patient
reports relevant complaints.
Missed or delayed stroke diagnoses, including Transient Ischemic
Attack (TIA), or "mini-stroke" can occur because the
reported complaints are mistaken for other conditions such as:
- headaches;
- dizziness;
- intoxication;
- anxiety;
- vertigo; or
- other mental health conditions.
This misdiagnosis or failure to consider stroke in the
differential diagnosis and to "rule out" stroke, can
often occur in the emergency department. It can lead to the failure
to perform a proper neurological examination or order the
appropriate radiological imaging (such as a CT or CTA), which may
have led to a proper stroke diagnosis.
