Diagnostic error in the Emergency Department: follow up of patients with minor trauma in the outpatient clinic.

Background: The Emergency Department (ED) is prone to diagnostic error. Most frequent diagnostic errors involved "minor" trauma. Our goal was to determine how frequently a missed diagnosis was detected during follow up and to determine the frequency and causes of primary missed diagnosis and diagnostic error.

[A man with a swollen ring finger].

A 30-year-old man visited the emergency department with a cut in his left forefinger. A coincidental finding during examination was a pre-existing swollen left ring finger. Radiography showed the formation of a new joint in the left ring finger after a volar dislocation of the proximal interphalangeal joint 2 years before.

Value of fasting blood glucose and serum fructosamine as a measure of diabetic control in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

The predictive values of fasting blood glucose and serum fructosamine for monitoring longterm diabetic control were investigated in 98 non-insulin dependent diabetic patients. The HbA1c percentage was taken as standard in this study. Despite a significant correlation, the predictive values of the parameters studied for an acceptable HbA1c-value appeared to be low (37% and 44% respectively), possibly due to differences in periods of time in which these parameters can change during variable metabolic control.

[Levels of fasting blood glucose and serum fructosamine for monitoring of glucose control in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus].

The predictive values of fasting blood glucose and serum fructosamine for monitoring long-term diabetic control were investigated in 98 non-insulin dependent diabetic patients. The HbAlc percentage was taken as standard in this study. Despite a significant correlation, the predictive values of the parameters studied for an acceptable HbAlc-value appeared to be low (37% and 44% respectively), possibly due to differences in periods of time in which these parameters can change during variable metabolic control.