Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39702011›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of emergency medicine2024

Preventable diagnostic errors of lower gastrointestinal perforation: a secondary analysis of a large-scale multicenter retrospective study.

Taku Harada, Takashi Watari, Satoshi Watanuki, Seiko Kushiro, Taiju Miyagami, Syunsuke Syusa, Satoshi Suzuki, Tetsuya Hiyoshi, Suguru Hasegawa, Shigeki Nabeshima and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of emergency medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Medico-legal cases involving gastroenterologists in Canada between 2017 and 2021.Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology · 2026
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Taku HaradaDivision of General Medicine, Nerima Hikarigaoka Hospital, 2-11-1 Hikarigaoka Nerima-ku, Tokyo, 179-0072, Japan. hrdtaku@gmail.com.
Takashi WatariGeneral Medicine Center, Shimane University Hospital, Enya‑cho, Shimane, Japan.
Satoshi WatanukiDivision of Emergency and General Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Medical Center, Fuchu, Japan.
Seiko KushiroDepartment of General Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan.
Taiju MiyagamiDepartment of General Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan.
Syunsuke SyusaDepartment of General Medicine, Tone Chuo Hospital, Numata, Gunma, Japan.
Satoshi SuzukiDepartment of General Medicine, Tone Chuo Hospital, Numata, Gunma, Japan.
Tetsuya HiyoshiGeneral Medicine of Department, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Suguru HasegawaDepartment of Gastroenterological Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Shigeki NabeshimaGeneral Medicine of Department, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Hidetoshi AiharaDepartment of General Medicine, Saga University Hospital, Saga, Japan.
Shun YamashitaDepartment of General Medicine, Saga University Hospital, Saga, Japan.
Masaki TagoDepartment of General Medicine, Saga University Hospital, Saga, Japan.
Fumitaka YoshimuraDepartment of General Medicine, Kumamoto Medical Center, Kumamoto, Japan.
Kotaro KunitomoDepartment of General Medicine, Kumamoto Medical Center, Kumamoto, Japan.
Takahiro TsujiDepartment of General Medicine, Kumamoto Medical Center, Kumamoto, Japan.
Masanori HiroseDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Tomoya TsuchidaDivision of General Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Taro ShimizuDepartment of Diagnostic and Generalist Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University Hospital, Mibu, Tochigi, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLower gastrointestinal perforation (LGP) is an acute abdominal condition associated with a high mortality rate. Timely and accurate diagnosis is crucial. Nevertheless, a diagnostic delay has been estimated to occur in approximately one-third of the cases, and the factors contributing to this delay are yet to be clearly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic process for appropriate clinical reasoning and availability of image interpretation in cases of delayed diagnosis of LGP.

methodsA secondary data analysis of a large multicenter retrospective study was conducted. This descriptive study analyzed data from a multicenter, observational study conducted across nine hospitals in Japan from January 2015 to December 2019. Out of 439 LGP cases, we included 138 cases of delayed diagnosis, excluding patients with traumatic or iatrogenic perforations, or those secondary to mesenteric ischemia, appendicitis, or diverticulitis. Clinical history and computed tomography (CT) imaging information were collected for 138 cases. Additionally, information on the clinical course of 50 cases, which were incorrectly diagnosed as gastroenteritis, constipation, or small bowel obstruction, was also collected.

resultsIn 42 (30.4%) cases of delayed diagnosis of LGP, CT imaging was performed before diagnosis, indicating a missed opportunity for timely diagnosis. Moreover, 33 of the 50 patients initially diagnosed with gastroenteritis, constipation, or small bowel obstruction at the time of initial examination had atypical findings that were not consistent with the initial diagnosis. Of the 138 cases with delayed diagnosis in our study, 67 cases (48.6%) showed problems with either the interpretation of CT scans or with the process of clinical reasoning.

conclusionOur retrospective study results indicate that approximately half of the cases with delayed diagnosis of LGP were due to problems in interpreting CT images or in clinical reasoning. This finding suggests that clinical reasoning and image interpretation by radiologists are important in improving the diagnostic process for LGP.

Indexed as

Abdominal painClinical reasoningDelayed diagnosisDiagnostic errorsGastrointestinal perforation

Identifiers

PMID39702011
PMCPMC11660691

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.