Revisiting the death of Eleanor Roosevelt: was the diagnosis of tuberculosis missed?
Controversy has surrounded the death of Eleanor Roosevelt in 1962. There has been a persistent sense that doctors missed the diagnosis of miliary tuberculosis, thereby jeopardizing her life. This article, using Roosevelt's medical chart and other previously unreviewed documents, revisits her illness and death. What disease actually killed Eleanor Roosevelt? Did her physicians miss the diagnosis? These questions are of particular importance in light of the recent Institute of Medicine report estimating that almost 100,000 Americans die each year from medical mistakes. Why has the possibility of error clouded the care of Roosevelt for almost 40 years? What can Roosevelt's case reveal about ongoing efforts to reduce mistakes in clinical practice?
Lerner
B H
BH
Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York 10032, USA. BHL5@columbia.edu
D000741:Anemia, Aplastic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history / Q000628:therapy; D001856:Bone Marrow Examination / Q000266:history; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000266:history*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D014391:Tuberculosis, Miliary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States