Study Finds ED Physicians Miss Stroke Diagnoses In Women, Minorities and Younger Patients

A new AHRQ-funded study suggests that emergency department physicians should be especially vigilant for the possibility of stroke in younger, female and nonwhite patients who complain of headache or dizziness. Based on AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project data from 2008 and 2009, study authors estimated that as many as 165,000 strokes are misdiagnosed annually in the emergency department. Potential misdiagnoses were more often associated with younger, female and minority patients who had headache and dizziness. Titled “Missed Diagnosis of Stroke in the Emergency Department: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Large Population-Based Sample,” the article was published online April 3 in Diagnosis. Co-authors included Ernest Moy, M.D., M.P.H., of AHRQ.