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Volume 32, Number 5—May 2026

CME ACTIVITY - Research

Frequency and Duration of Diagnostic Delays Associated with Coccidioidomycosis and Risk Factors for Missed Diagnoses, United States

Desmond D. Barber, Alan T. Arakkal, George R. Thompson, John W. Baddley, Joe E. Cavanaugh, Aaron C. Miller, and Philip M. PolgreenComments to Author 
Author affiliation: University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA (D.D. Barber, A.T. Arakkal, J.E. Cavanaugh, A.C. Miller, P.M. Polgreen); University of California, Davis, California, USA (G.R. Thompson); Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA (J.W. Baddley)

Main Article

Table 2

Index diagnosis visits and simulation results for missed diagnostic opportunities by setting in study of frequency and duration of diagnostic delays associated with coccidioidomycosis and risk factors for missed diagnoses, United States*

Setting No. potential missed opportunity visit days Index diagnosis visits†
Potential missed opportunities‡
No. index visits % Of all index visits No. missed opportunities (95% CI) % Of all missed opportunities (95% CI)
Outpatient 71,392 25,237 84.4% 35,435 (33,277–37,741) 73.2% (72.4%–74.1%)
Emergency department 6,985 1,230 4.1% 3,607 (3,330–3,838) 7.5% (7.2%–7.7%)
Observational stay 626 128 0.4% 318 (271–365) 0.7% (0.6%–0.7%)
Inpatient 18,897 3,314 11.1% 9,024 (8,280–9,834) 18.6% (17.8%–19.5%)
Inpatient visit§ 3,169 3,314 11.1% 2,654 (2,532–2,784) NC§

*NC, not calculated. †Multiple settings may be associated with an index visit date (i.e., we are unable to order the timing of visits from claims on the same day); thus, the total number exceeds the number of individuals in the study population. ‡Multiple settings may occur on a given visit day (i.e., we are unable to order the timing of visits from claims on the same day); thus, the total number exceeds the total estimated potential missed diagnostic opportunities. §Inpatient visits represent >1 days admitted to an inpatient facility. Our analysis of missed diagnostic opportunities is based on visit days in which the patient received a symptomatically similar diagnosis on a given day. We can aggregate potential missed opportunities, index diagnoses, and estimated missed opportunities from the bootstrapping approach into the overall inpatient stay in which they occurred. However, the denominator for computing the percent of missed opportunities that occurred in each setting represents the total number of visit days representing a missed opportunity; thus, a value for aggregate inpatient visits is not computed.

Main Article

Page created: March 23, 2026
Page updated: May 11, 2026
Page reviewed: May 11, 2026
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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