Erb Palsy

Erb palsy is a state in which a person has received nerve damage in the neck and/or shoulders. This condition causes impairment of the hand(s) and/or arm(s) with reduced sensation. Often, Erb palsy is a result of difficulties during the birth process, in which the infants’ neck or head is somehow sprained exiting the birth canal. In many cases, it is due to the infant’s shoulder impacting the mother’s pelvis. It is possible, however, for someone to develop Erb palsy as a result of a fall, a vehicular accident, a knife or bullet wound, or by playing aggressive sports such as football or wrestling.

The symptoms of Erb palsy vary, but the most common are loss of shoulder and/or elbow limitation, pain, burning sensation, and the inability to move or feel a particular arm. Erb palsy is a treatable condition, generally through physical therapy, massage, pain medication, and in severe cases, surgery.

In cases of babies being born with Erb palsy, the majority will recover from this condition without having to seek surgical treatment. In the remainder of cases, children benefit from the surgical treatment, which is most effective before the child turns one year old. Erb palsy is not a common condition, as only two out of every 10,000 babies born will be diagnosed with this condition. Often, surgical treatment is strongly advised if a child with Erb palsy does not show improvement within the first four months. The treatment of this condition varies and involves different avenues of therapy for recovery.
Goldberg & Osborne, a personal injury law firm, has provided this article for informational purposes only, written by an independent author, has not reviewed or edited this article, and is not responsible for its content or accuracy.

Delayed Diagnosis - What is it?

Delayed diagnosis occurs when significant amount of delay is noted, from the time the patient sees a doctor up to the time the right diagnosis is arrived at. A delay in diagnosis is specifically problematic in cases where immediate medical intervention is required.

A study made by HealthGrades on Patient Safety Incidents (PSIs) revealed that “failure to rescue,” which means failure to diagnose and treat in a timely manner, is a prevalent reason for patient safety incidents. The cases are pegged at 155 incidents for every 1,000 patients hospitalized.

In every diagnosis particularly in serious cases, a ‘differential diagnosis” is utilized by a doctor to come up with the right diagnosis. The process involves coming up with a diagnosis list of illnesses that manifest similar symptoms to that of the patients. For instance, coughing symptoms could be diagnosed as simple cough, bronchitis or lung cancer.

The physician will conduct a series of tests to rule out the diagnosis one by one. During the tests, the doctor might come across a new set of symptoms which could add more diagnosis to the list.

The differential diagnosis might take some time but not significant enough to cause delayed diagnosis. In delayed diagnosis, the patient has to wait for a significant amount of time from the time the case was referred to the doctor to the time the correct diagnosis is made.

The delays incurred could be due to various reasons such as failure to diagnose the symptoms or mismanagement of diagnostic exams. In some cases, the delay can be due to the fact that doctors do not listen to the patients’ complaints. This results in overlooking vital information and conducting important tests such as diagnostic exams which could have helped in the fast and proper diagnosis of the ailment.

Human error is a possible cause of delayed diagnosis. In some cases, laboratory technicians may contaminate the samples provided by the patient. The results will come out inaccurate in cases like these. Other causes include faulty laboratory equipment, following improper procedure, or that the test results are read wrongly.

Due to delayed diagnosis, the patient’s condition could worsen or it could lead to permanent disability. In serious ailments, quick action can spell the difference between life and death for the patient. If the symptoms are not treated for a substantial amount of time, the chances of survival for the patient might diminish remarkably.

Goldberg & Osborne, a personal injury law firm, has provided this article for informational purposes only, written by an independent author, has not reviewed or edited this article, and is not responsible for its content or accuracy.