Shades of grey: how and why we make mistakes

Purpose: to consider the epidemiology and classification of errors in radiologic diagnostics.

Materials and methods. The analysis of articles devoted to elucidating the possible causes of diagnostic errors published before 2019 is carried out. A retrospective analysis of the research results revealed the most frequent cognitive biases affecting clinical decision making. Strategies have been developed to combat these distortions, which minimize the likelihood of errors.

Discussion. Image analysis by doctors is a complex work based on a combination of psychophysiological and cognitive processes, which in itself is subject to a wide variety of errors, including perception errors (when pathological changes are simply skipped) and cognitive errors (those cases when pathological changes are detected visually but incorrectly interpreted). Although some of the changes in the radiation images may be skipped due to technical or physical limitations of the modality (resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, artifacts, etc.), most diagnostic discrepancies are associated with an incorrect interpretation of the findings by radiologists.

Conclusions. Cognitive distortions can significantly affect the process of making diagnostic decisions, and lead to medical errors and negative consequences for patients. Various cognitive strategies and metacognitive practices can help minimize the impact of bias on decision making and reduce the frequency of diagnostic errors. Knowing one’s limitations and possibilities in interpreting radiation research, as well as understanding the role of the radiologist in the formation of the final diagnosis and, accordingly, in the fate of the patient, can lead to a more thoughtful analysis of images and clinical information and improve the quality of the diagnostic decision-making process.

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