Misdiagnosis Coursework Example

Deep Vein Thrombosis Misdiagnosis
Student’s Name
Institution’s Affiliation
Deep Vein Thrombosis Misdiagnosis
Medial Review
The 50-year-old male patient was misdiagnosed and put under Motrin and Flexeril treatment (Buttaro, Trybulski, Polgar Bailey,& Sandberg-Cook, 2017). After one week, he was correctly diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVP), a serious condition resulting from blood clotting in the major veins of the legs such as femoral, calf and popliteal veins. The misdiagnosis was indicated by a progressive worsening of the patient’s condition despite using the prescribed drugs which called for further analysis of the condition. Some other physicians failed to diagnose the occurrence of a blood clot in the patient’s leg.
Possible reasons for the misdiagnosis
The patient’s medical condition was possibly misdiagnosed due to the following reasons: first, is because he was physically active. He was an avid runner, and this might have made the physician think that it was a muscle injury resulting from running. DVT is associated with a sedentary lifestyle and high level of blood cholesterol which blocks the major leg veins (Brinegar, Sheth, Khademhosseini, Bautista, & Oklu, 2015). Secondly, the physicians used a simple clinical assessment to diagnose the patient’s condition. Due to the other conditions exhibiting the same symptoms, an effective medical test is necessary to rule out other conditions. Misdiagnosis of DVT is potentially dangerous and life-threatening as it can result in other serious conditions such as stroke and pulmonary embolism.

Reasons why DVT is often misdiagnosed
DVT continue to be misdiagnosed due to first, there are other conditions exhibiting the same symptoms. A color change and heat in the leg muscle, swelling and tenderness and severe pain are symptoms exhibited by both muscle strain and DVT. When an inexperienced physician carries out a clinical assessment, they are likely to elude key possibilities that could point to DVT such as medical history, family history and make quick assumptions based on risk factors. Without a closer look at the patient’s medical history, some medical examinations may result in a misdiagnosis (Gornik & Sharma, 2014). Secondly, there are other conditions that exhibit the same symptoms like DVT. Muscle strain, arthritis, and sciatica affect limbs causing severe pain and swelling. Therefore, the nurses should focus on ruling out these conditions to establish the exact medical condition the patient is suffering from. Thirdly, during a clinical assessment, a physician may solely focus on simple risk factors and the possible conditions they point to. Leg pain after a vigorous physical exercise is a likely indicator of muscle strain.
Preventing misdiagnosis
Misdiagnosis is a serious issue in the nursing profession resulting to the patient suffering dearly for the nurse’s mistake. Examination of DVT patients has always resulted in numerous cases of misdiagnosis due to other conditions exhibiting the same symptoms (Gornik, & Sharma, 2014). The following strategy would help in preventing misdiagnosis.
The patient’s history
Based on a simple clinical assessment, a physician ought to establish all the possible conditions. The physical ought to ask for any occurrence of cardiovascular disorders. Diseases including pulmonary embolism, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, and stroke would point to the possibility of DVT (Gornik & Sharma, 2014). Systemic illnesses that involve regular intake of drugs may also lead to the formation of deposits in blood vessels that can result in blood clotting. The physician also should determine incidences of DVT and other cardiovascular disorders, stroke, obesity disorder and arthritis in the patient’s family.
Ordering diagnostics
On having deduced all possible conditions the patient is suffering from, the physician then should curry out objective clinical tests on each of the possible disorders (Gornik & Sharma, 2014). In this case, testing should be carried out on DVT, muscle strain, arthritis, and sciatica. For more accurate results, the physician examines the affected area by ultrasonic scanning (US), and X-ray focused on the proximal vein.
Treatment options
There are various treatment options for DVT patients that can be recommended depending on the patient’s state of health. The most effective way is through blood thinning therapy where the patient is put under Warfarin treatment and lowering Vitamin K intake (Gornik & Sharma, 2014). Other treatments include the use of heparin for thrombo-prophylaxis, physiotherapy, and exercise, mechanical prophylaxis which enhances blood flow in the lower limbs.

References
Brinegar, K. N., Sheth, R. A., Khademhosseini, A., Bautista, J., & Oklu, R. (2015). Iliac vein compression syndrome: clinical, imaging and pathologic findings. World journal of radiology, 7(11), 375.
Buttaro, T.M., Trybulski, J., Polgar Bailey, P., & Sandberg-Cook, J., (2017). Primary Care: A Collaborative Practice (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Gornik, H. L., & Sharma, A. M. (2014). Duplex ultrasound in the diagnosis of lower-extremity deep venous thrombosis. Circulation, 129(8), 917-921.