• Joseph M Neal, Susan S Porter, and Barry P Wilson.
• From the *Department of Anesthesiology, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA; †Department of Anesthesiology, Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute, Leawood; and ‡Mission, KS.
• Reg Anesth Pain Med. 2017 Sep 1; 42 (5): 645-648.

ObjectiveWe report a case of misdiagnosed neuralgic amyotrophy (brachial plexus neuritis, Parsonage-Turner syndrome). Our primary objective is to review the scientific basis for errors in clinical reasoning.Case ReportWe herein report a patient in whom signs and symptoms compatible with neuralgic amyotrophy presented after shoulder surgery. The patient's brachial plexopathy was attributed incorrectly as a complication of interscalene brachial plexus block. The true diagnosis was made only after the patient developed neuralgic amyotrophy in the contralateral upper extremity after a subsequent shoulder surgery on that side, this time without a brachial plexus block.ConclusionsCognitive bias may lead to errors in clinical reasoning and consequent misdiagnosis. Temporal proximity may falsely implicate regional anesthesia as the causative agent.

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