Blind obedience and an unnecessary workup for hypoglycemia: a teachable moment.
Wang EY, Patrick L, Connor DM. Blind Obedience and an Unnecessary Workup for Hypoglycemia: A Teachable Moment. JAMA Intern Med. 2018;178(2):279-280. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.7104.
This commentary relates an incident involving biases and overconfidence in laboratory test results that affected diagnostic decision making and culminated in a delayed diagnosis. The authors suggest that clinicians seek to understand the limits of common laboratory tests and consult the full range of evidence available to prevent this type of error.