Common cognitive pitfalls in emergency medicine

Kilner, T. Pomfret; Butterfield, Emma; Poonian, Jasmine

doi:10.1111/1742-6723.13626

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…Interpreting new findings to confirm preexisting beliefs is confirmation bias. Finally, representativeness bias occurs when the perceived frequency of a diagnosis, or the perceived similarity of the current presentation to other recent presentations of a disease, affects a provider's assessment of how likely a patient is to have the disease [11][12][13].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not Like the Textbook: An Atypical Case of Ectopic Pregnancy

Birch¹,

Molina²,

Oliver³

2022

Cureus

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Ectopic pregnancy is a potentially life-threatening outcome of pregnancy that occurs with the implantation of an embryo outside of the endometrial cavity. Classically considered a "must not miss" diagnosis, ectopic pregnancy is a common emergency department presentation, associated with a symptom triad of amenorrhea, vaginal bleeding, and abdominal pain. However, varied presentations of ectopic pregnancy or lack of typical risk factors can complicate the evaluation and diagnosis of this condition. This case report describes an atypical presentation of ectopic pregnancy after a reported spontaneous abortion, in which the patient was initially discharged with a diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease. This case provides an illustration of ectopic pregnancy that presented without classically associated symptoms, and also highlights how anchoring bias and pre-emptive closure, among other cognitive biases, contributed to a missed diagnosis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not Like the Textbook: An Atypical Case of Ectopic Pregnancy

Birch¹,

Molina²,

Oliver³

2022

Cureus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In Case 1 of the article by Kilner et al, 1 it highlights something that psychologists and human factors specialists 2,3 have known for years but clinicians and healthcare safety departments generally do not; cognitive biases are constructs applied with hindsight bias (the tendency for the reviewer to perceive past events as having been more predictable than they actually were) and outcome bias (judging the quality of a decision based on its outcome rather than its reasoning). And since no one chooses to make an error, you do not know which cognitive bias you are about to fall victim to, so you cannot choose not to.…”

Section: 'Monday's Experts Always Know What's Best Always Tell You Wh...mentioning

confidence: 99%