Serious eye condition commonly misdiagnosed
Doctors in New York could be misdiagnosing nearly 25 percent of all age-related macular degeneration cases, according to a study. The research was published in JAMA Ophthalmology.
Safety grades shed light on hospital care quality
New Yorkers may be concerned about the quality of care they will receive when they enter the hospital for surgery or other serious medical treatment. A spring 2018 safety report card issued by the Leapfrog Group noted that standards had improved at four hospitals in Central New York while safety grades had declined at four additional medical centers in the region. The report is issued twice a year and assigns letter grades– A, B, C, D and F — to hospital safety practices across the country.
Research uncovers diagnostic clues for rare bladder disease
An international team of researchers has identified a biomarker associated with interstitial cystitis, a painful bladder disease that demands constant urination. Through the process of DNA methylation analysis, researchers found biomarkers in the urine of people with IC that could improve the ability of physicians in New York to diagnose the disease accurately and early.
Mitochondrial patients often face misdiagnoses
Mitochondria, which are found in all cells except red blood cells, provide a majority of the body’s energy. When mitochondria become diseased, therefore, they can affect almost any part of the body and cause a wide range of symptoms to arise. Patients in New York who suffer from a mitochondrial disease are probably aware that their conditions are difficult to diagnose.
Allergy misdiagnosis
New York residents may be interested in learning about cerebrospinal fluid leaks and how this condition may be misdiagnosed. One woman was in an automobile accident in 2013. She remembers hitting her head during the accident, and soon after, she noticed that her nose was constantly running.
Survey shows that fungal skin infections are often misdiagnosed
Anyone in New York who has suffered from a fungal skin infection should know about a survey recently published by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. A dermatologist from George Washington University along with colleagues in clinical research have shown that fungal skin infections are all too frequently misdiagnosed.
Research on effectiveness of mobile health app
Physicians in New York have many resources that they can use to help determine the types of tests and diagnoses patients need. Mobile health applications are one of the tools that may help improve how physicians make diagnostic decisions. However, many of them have not been clinically evaluated.
False penicillin allergies limit effective antibiotic choices
A medical study has shown that the majority of people who believe that they have a penicillin allergy, in fact, do not. When wrongly labeled with this allergy, people in New York and elsewhere have their infections treated with alternative antibiotics that tend to be less effective and cost more. The unnecessary use of alternative antibiotics also increases opportunities for bacteria to develop a resistance to strong antibiotics.
Infusion errors account for over half of adverse drug events
The vast majority of people who enter hospitals in New York will receive an infusion during treatment. The ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit organization that promotes improvements in patient care, identified infusion errors as the top source of medical technology errors in 2017. Every year, 1.5 million adverse drug events afflict patients, and 54 percent of them arise from infusion errors.
Cancer misdiagnosis can have devastating consequences
It is estimated that less than 2 percent of potential cancer patients in New York and across the U.S. receive incorrect test results from a hospital pathology lab. While this number is relatively low, the consequences of such mistakes can be devastating for the patients involved.