When a patient in the emergency room presents with complaints of severe abdominal pain, there are a few things that might be wrong. One of these is appendicitis. No matter what the diagnosis actually is, it needs to be the correct one. Failing to diagnose appendicitis properly can lead to serious issues, up to and including death.
Appendicitis occurs when the appendix is inflamed. It needs to be removed if this is the case because it can burst. This will spew infectious matter into the abdomen. When this happens, there is a chance that the abdominal cavity lining will become inflamed. This can be fatal.
There are several ways that appendicitis can be diagnosed. Blood tests, urinalysis, physical exams and imaging tests are some of the things that might need to be done to make this diagnosis. Because there is a chance that the condition will mimic another condition, doctors must err on the side of caution.
While nobody wants to have to have an emergency surgery, this is often necessary when the patient has appendicitis. There isn’t a good reason for the appendix to be left alone since having it burst is such a real and serious risk.
For patients who aren’t diagnosed properly, the medical treatments they will need often include surgery to remove the burst appendix, but they might have to also undergo other treatments. This might include lengthy hospital stays with antibiotics through an intravenous route. All the while, the patient is having to take off work and miss out on life – just because they weren’t properly diagnosed. Seeking compensation in these cases might be in order.
