Annals of emergency medicine
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Multicenter Study
Missed Serious Neurologic Conditions in Emergency Department Patients Discharged With Nonspecific Diagnoses of Headache or Back Pain.
Serious neurologic conditions can be missed on initial emergency department (ED) visit and discharge diagnosis oftentimes remains a nonspecific symptom. We aim to examine the incidence of potential harm from serious neurologic conditions in ED patients discharged with a nonspecific diagnosis of headache or back pain, identify specific missed conditions, and determine risk factors for potential misdiagnosis-related harm. ⋯ A small proportion of ED patients discharged with nonspecific diagnoses of headache or back pain returned with a serious neurologic condition or inhospital death within 30 days.