New University of Utah Health research challenges pneumonia diagnoses
Aug 8, 2024, 6:00 AM | Updated: 7:57 am
A new University of Utah Health study determined that more than half of pnemonia diagnoses change by the time a patient is discharged from the hospital. (Kristen Murphy, Deseret News)
(Kristen Murphy, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — A University of Utah Health study reveals that over half of hospital pneumonia diagnoses are uncertain and change during treatment.
The head of the study, Dr. Barbara Jones is a pulmonary and critical care physician at University of Utah Health. She used artificial intelligence to come to this conclusion, by developing an algorithm that systematically sifted through clinical notes.
She searched over two million charts from more than 100 VA medical centers across the country, finding mismatches between initial diagnoses and discharged diagnoses.
A University of Utah Health press release says these findings explained that “more than half the time, a pneumonia diagnosis made in the hospital will change from a patient’s entrance to their discharge.”
Jones said the reason for these diagnostic misalignments are because of symptom “mimics.”
“There’s a lot of overlap for conditions for pneumonia that look like other diseases,” Jones said.
The results of this study call into question a lot of existing research on pneumonia treatment, which should create a willingness for physicians to adapt to situations as they change.
“Both patients and clinicians need to pay attention to their recovery and question the diagnosis if they don’t get better with treatment,” she said.
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