Misdiagnosis and Delay in Diagnosis of Brain Haemorrhage
A brain haemorrhage occurs when the blood vessel wall tears because of the pressure of blood and when this happens blood bursts into the surrounding tissues. This leak of blood is often caused by the rupture of a weakened blood vessel known as a brain aneurysm. It can be very dangerous and it is thought that over 8,500 people are affected in the UK every year.
Damage to brain tissue may cause speech disturbance, emotional difficulties, memory and concentration problems, irritability and aggression, weakness down one side of the body, double vision, epilepsy, disinhibition and incontinence. Not all such damage is permanent however, and intensive rehabilitation, with physical, occupational and speech therapy will help recovery - which may be slow and uneven. There is no age barrier to this life threatening condition, and it can happen at any time or place.
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A brain haemorrhage may be a subdural, extradural or a subarachnoid:-
- A subdural haemorrhage is often slowly evolving, frequently starting after trauma to the head with elderly people being particularly susceptible.
- An extradural haemorrhage usually occurs after a head injury frequently being as a result of a contact sports injury or a road traffic accident.
- A subarachnoid haemorrhage happens spontaneously. There is often little or no warning. Typically, the person collapses with a sudden headache that is unlike any other headache they've ever experienced. They may vomit, develop signs of meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain) such as neck stiffness and dislike of light, and may rapidly become drowsy, confused and unconscious.
Many of our misdiagnosis cases involve the misdiagnosis of a subarachnoid haemorrhage. People who suffer from a subarachnoid haemorrhage are usually taken to their local Accident and Emergency Department. Diagnosis can be complex and is sometimes missed none the least because of the range of symptoms. However the warning symptoms that may give an indication of a bleed in the brain should not be ignored. Once a person reaches hospital the diagnosis is usually confirmed with a CT scan of the brain. If this condition remains undiagnosed it can be fatal. If the diagnosis is delayed then it is extremely dangerous and may have an effect on the chances of survival of the patient.
Some times operations to treat the brain haemorrhage such as repairing the brain aneurism can go wrong or be negligently performed. Such errors may occur by the surgeon, the anaesthetist or the nursing team. More details on surgical errors including both pre and post operation can be found on the surgical errors page.
