Taxonomy and Epidemiology of Error in Radiology

2019 ◽  
pp. 29-74
Author(s):  
Michael A. Bruno
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Confirmation Bias ◽  
Diagnostic Error ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Anchoring Bias ◽  
Classification Of Error

This chapter provides an overview of the prevalence and classification of error types in radiology, including the frequency and types of errors made by radiologists. We will review the relative contribution of perceptual error—in which findings are simply not seen—as compared to other common types of error. This error epidemiology will be considered in the light of the underlying variability and uncertainties present in the radiological process. The role of key cognitive biases will also be reviewed, including anchoring bias, confirmation bias, and availability bias. The role of attentional focus, working memory, and problems caused by fatigue and interruption will also be explored. Finally, the problem of radiologist error will be considered in the context of the overall problem of diagnostic error in medicine.

Classification of Error in Abdominal Imaging: Pearls and Pitfalls for Radiologists

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Csilla Egri ◽  
Kathryn E. Darras ◽  
Elena P. Scali ◽  
Alison C. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Diagnostic Errors ◽  
Diagnostic Error ◽  
Abdominal Imaging ◽  
Patient Harm ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Abdominal Radiology ◽  
Pictorial Review ◽  
Classification Of Error

Peer review for radiologists plays an important role in identifying contributing factors that can lead to diagnostic errors and patient harm. It is essential that all radiologists be aware of the multifactorial causes of diagnostic error in radiology and the methods available to reduce it. This pictorial review provides readers with an overview of common errors that occur in abdominal radiology and strategies to reduce them. This review aims to make readers more aware of pitfalls in abdominal imaging so that these errors can be avoided in the future. This essay also provides a systematic approach to classifying abdominal imaging errors that will be of value to all radiologists participating in peer review.

Children's Verbal Working Memory: Role of Processing Complexity in Predicting Spoken Sentence Comprehension

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 669-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beula M. Magimairaj ◽  
James W. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Simple Sentences

Purpose This study investigated the role of processing complexity of verbal working memory tasks in predicting spoken sentence comprehension in typically developing children. Of interest was whether simple and more complex working memory tasks have similar or different power in predicting sentence comprehension. Method Sixty-five children (6- to 12-year-olds) completed a verbal working memory (listening) span task that varied in syntactic processing difficulty (simple sentences representing a “simple working memory task,” complex sentences representing a “complex working memory task”) and a standardized sentence comprehension test. Results Word recall on the simple and complex working memory tasks correlated with each other. Both memory tasks also correlated with children's sentence comprehension. Regression analyses showed that the simple working memory task remained a significant predictor of comprehension even after accounting for variance associated with age and performance on the complex working memory task. Conclusions Results were interpreted to suggest that relative to more complex verbal working memory tasks, simple tasks are more robust predictors of children's sentence comprehension because they represent a basic yet robust index of working memory that sufficiently captures controlled attentional focus.

Mortality and morbidity rounds (MMR) in pathology: relative contribution of cognitive bias vs. systems failures to diagnostic error

Diagnosis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quentin Eichbaum ◽  
Brian Adkins ◽  
Laura Craig-Owens ◽  
Donna Ferguson ◽  
Daniel Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Bias ◽  
Medical Error ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Study Participant ◽  
Diagnostic Error ◽  
Cognitive Errors ◽  
Rater Agreement ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Relative Contribution

Abstract Background Heuristics and cognitive biases are thought to play an important role in diagnostic medical error. How to systematically determine and capture these kinds of errors remains unclear. Morbidity and mortality rounds (MMRs) are generally focused on reducing medical error by identifying and correcting systems failures. However, they may also provide an educational platform for recognizing and raising awareness on cognitive errors. Methods A total of 49 MMR cases spanning the period 2008–2015 in our pathology department were examined for the presence of cognitive errors and/or systems failures by eight study participant raters who were trained on a subset of 16 of these MMR cases (excluded from the main study analysis) to identify such errors. The Delphi method was used to obtain group consensus on error classification on the remaining 33 study cases. Cases with <75% inter-rater agreement were subjected to subsequent rounds of Delphi analysis. Inter-rater agreement at each round was determined by Fleiss’ kappa values. Results Thirty-six percent of the cases presented at our pathology MMRs over an 8-year period were found to contain errors likely due to cognitive bias. Conclusions These data suggest that the errors identified in our pathology MMRs represent not only systems failures but may also be composed of a significant proportion of cognitive errors. Teaching trainees and health professionals to correctly identify different types of cognitive errors may present an opportunity for quality improvement interventions in the interests of patient safety.

Multidimensional Anxiety and Content-specificity Effects in Preferential Processing of Threat

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 252-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel G. Calvo ◽  
P. Avero ◽  
M. Dolores Castillo ◽  
Juan J. Miguel-Tobal
Keyword(s):  
Selective Attention ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Color Naming ◽  
Memory Bias ◽  
Ego Threat ◽  
Phobic Anxiety ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Content Specificity ◽  
Specificity Effects

We examined the relative contribution of specific components of multidimensional anxiety to cognitive biases in the processing of threat-related information in three experiments. Attentional bias was assessed by the emotional Stroop word color-naming task, interpretative bias by an on-line inference processing task, and explicit memory bias by sensitivity (d') and response criterion (β) from word-recognition scores. Multiple regression analyses revealed, first, that phobic anxiety and evaluative anxiety predicted selective attention to physical- and ego-threat information, respectively; cognitive anxiety predicted selective attention to both types of threat. Second, phobic anxiety predicted inhibition of inferences related to physically threatening outcomes of ambiguous situations. And, third, evaluative anxiety predicted a response bias, rather than a genuine memory bias, in the reporting of presented and nonpresented ego-threat information. Other anxiety components, such as motor and physiological anxiety, or interpersonal and daily-routines anxiety made no specific contribution to any cognitive bias. Multidimensional anxiety measures are useful for detecting content-specificity effects in cognitive biases.

Working Memory and Number Sense as Predictors of Mathematical (Dis-)Ability

2015 ◽  
Vol 223 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn H. Kroesbergen ◽  
Marloes van Dijk
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Spatial Working Memory ◽  
Number Sense ◽  
Mathematical Learning ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Mathematical Learning Disabilities ◽  
Visual Spatial Working Memory ◽  
And Mathematics

Recent research has pointed to two possible causes of mathematical (dis-)ability: working memory and number sense, although only few studies have compared the relations between working memory and mathematics and between number sense and mathematics. In this study, both constructs were studied in relation to mathematics in general, and to mathematical learning disabilities (MLD) in particular. The sample consisted of 154 children aged between 6 and 10 years, including 26 children with MLD. Children performing low on either number sense or visual-spatial working memory scored lower on math tests than children without such a weakness. Children with a double weakness scored the lowest. These results confirm the important role of both visual-spatial working memory and number sense in mathematical development.

Working Memory Capacity and a Notorious Brain Teaser

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim De Neys ◽  
Niki Verschueren
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Normative Reasoning ◽  
Monty Hall Dilemma ◽  
Monty Hall ◽  
Memory Resources

Abstract. The Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD) is an intriguing example of the discrepancy between people’s intuitions and normative reasoning. This study examines whether the notorious difficulty of the MHD is associated with limitations in working memory resources. Experiment 1 and 2 examined the link between MHD reasoning and working memory capacity. Experiment 3 tested the role of working memory experimentally by burdening the executive resources with a secondary task. Results showed that participants who solved the MHD correctly had a significantly higher working memory capacity than erroneous responders. Correct responding also decreased under secondary task load. Findings indicate that working memory capacity plays a key role in overcoming salient intuitions and selecting the correct switching response during MHD reasoning.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document