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Diagnostic error is a leading cause of preventable hospital harm, yet most research has focused on high-risk subgroups such as ICU transfers or in-hospital deaths rather than routine medical admissions. In this retrospective cohort study, Swiss investigators used a structured review process to identify diagnostic errors in nearly 350 adult internal medicine admissions at several hospitals.
Diagnostic error occurred in 15% of admissions; errors led to minor harm in most of those cases and major harm in 10% of them. Errors most often involved missed or delayed diagnoses of infectious (30%) and cardiovascular (26%) diseases.
In a multivariable analysis, independent predictors of diagnostic error included neurocognitive or psych…