Delayed Diagnosis of Pulmonary Thromboembolism Due to Overfocus on COVID-19

Yukinori Harada; Taro Shimizu

doi:10.12890/2020_002002

Delayed Diagnosis of Pulmonary Thromboembolism Due to Overfocus on COVID-19

Yukinori Harada Department of Diagnostic and Generalist Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University Hospital, Mibu, Tochigi, Japan
Taro Shimizu Department of Diagnostic and Generalist Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University Hospital, Mibu, Tochigi, Japan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12890/2020_002002

Keywords

COVID-19, diagnostic errors, pandemic, pulmonary thromboembolism

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made it difficult for physicians to follow their usual diagnostic processes. We present the case of a 25-year-old man with adjustment disorder who developed dyspnoea. He was concerned about COVID-19, but his test result was negative. After excluding COVID-19, the physician concluded that his symptoms were related to his psychiatric condition. However, the patient was diagnosed with pulmonary thromboembolism by another physician. To avoid missing a diagnosis, physicians must practice zero-based thinking, regardless of COVID-19 concerns, and not be distracted from the patient's core problems.

VIEW THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

HTML
PDF

References

Boyle JG, Walters MR, Jamieson S, Durning SJ. Clinical reasoning in the wild: premature closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. Diagnosis (Berl) 2020;7:177–179.

Schiff G, Mirica M. COVID-19: making the right diagnosis. Diagnosis (Berl) 2020 Jul 13;/j/dx.ahead-of-print/dx-2020-0063/dx-2020-0063.xml. doi: 10.1515/dx-2020-0063. Online ahead of print.

Yokose M, Harada Y, Shimizu T. The reply. Am J Med 2020;133:e328.

Fuglebjerg NJU, Jensen TO, Hoyer N, Ryrsø CK, Madsen BL, Harboe ZB. Silent hypoxia in patients with SARS CoV-2 infection before hospital discharge. Int J Infect Dis 2020;99:100–101.