Swedish Doctor Barred After Misdiagnosing 80 Heart Patients
A Swedish doctor has been barred from practice after incorrectly clearing 80 children with heart conditions as healthy. Some children now require surgery for serious heart defects. The regional health authority is expanding its investigation into the misdiagnoses.
A doctor in Jönköping, Sweden incorrectly cleared approximately 80 children with heart conditions as healthy. The physician can no longer treat patients following the discovery.
Some children have heart defects so serious they now require surgery. The hospital's pediatric clinic manager expressed deep concern about the situation. "This is not acceptable. Patients should be able to trust their doctors. There are far too many cases where the assessments fell short," the manager said in a statement.
The misdiagnosed children were initially deemed not to need surgery or follow-up care. Many continued experiencing symptoms like shortness of breath and fatigue. When they sought medical help again, examinations revealed their heart conditions persisted.
Medical records for 700 children are now under review. The doctor had worked at the facility for six years. So far only half of the affected children have been called for re-examination.
The regional health authority will expand its investigation further back in time. This suggests the number of misdiagnosed cases could increase. Jönköping is a city in southern Sweden with a population of about 100,000 people.
Medical misdiagnosis on this scale raises serious questions about oversight systems. When dozens of children require surgery after being declared healthy, it indicates systemic failures beyond individual error.