--- title: Misdiagnosis of Jayden Wray shows need for diagnosis checklist tools description: Just by entering any of Jayden’s symptoms into Isabel may have reminded doctors to consider rickets as part of their differential diagnosis. image: https://info.isabelhealthcare.com/hs-fs/file-17414557-jpg/images/01-baby415.jpg --- April 27, 2012 # Misdiagnosis of Jayden Wray shows need for diagnosis checklist tools ![jayden wray had rickets](https://info.isabelhealthcare.com/hs-fs/file-17414557-jpg/images/01-baby415.jpg?width=179&height=149&name=01-baby415.jpg) One of the most tragic cases of diagnosis I have ever seen was widely reported in the UK last week. This [article](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2134226/Jayden-Wray-death-Couple-wrongly-blamed-shaking-rickets-stricken-baby-death-relive-horrific-ordeal.html?ito=feeds-newsxml) in the Daily Mail is the most detailed as the reporter had clearly read the judgement that was also published. In brief, the case deals with a young couple whose child died after presenting with seizures due to a fractured skull. The clinicians presumed the fractured skull to be as a result of child abuse and the parents were charged with murder. Both parents were wrongly imprisoned for some months but were finally cleared of murder after it was revealed that the child had rickets due to vitamin D deficiency and that the fracture was most likely due to the child banging its head while in its cot. The couple also had a second child that was born before they were cleared at trial, and she was immediately removed from them. Although acquitted of murder at the trial, the parents had to go through another court case to regain custody of their daughter. They finally won this case last week and are now back at home with their daughter! ![jayden wray's parents](https://info.isabelhealthcare.com/hs-fs/file-27570754-jpg/images/wrays_parents.jpg?width=300&height=169&name=wrays_parents.jpg)The case is particularly tragic because the missed diagnosis of rickets may have been prevented, and it shows that this wrong initial step can lead to a cascade of awful events. The case is also a classic one of "premature closure" as the clinicians jumped to the conclusion of child abuse and then failed to consider any other reasonable possibilities. The [judgement](http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed97208) is extremely detailed and includes statements from several expert witnesses so enables us to see that there was virtually no discussion or consideration of any other possible diagnoses. The judgement also shows that the young couple appeared to be perfect parents with Jayden not showing any signs whatsoever of abuse. Just by entering any one or a combination of Jayden’s symptoms: “seizures”,  “fractured skull” or “low calcium” into Isabel (or the new iPhone app) may have reminded doctors to consider rickets as another important possible diagnosis. Instead, the diagnosis of “child abuse” was made to the exclusion of other likely and important diagnoses, triggering the cascade of horrific events to hit the family over the last three years. This case illustrates graphically why the use of tools like Isabel should become standard practice. In the 21st century, when virtually every other industry is heavily reliant on information technology, our health should not be so dependent on a doctor’s memory and subjective views. In my view, hospitals and practices should be required to provide diagnosis checklist tools to support their clinicians in the same way that other tools are provided. ~by Jason Maude, Isabel Healthcare Founder [![Click me](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/133692/abbb90a2-5e62-4709-835c-4e95fd434a0b.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/133692/abbb90a2-5e62-4709-835c-4e95fd434a0b) [![Share on Facebook](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/facebook-24x24.png)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Finfo.isabelhealthcare.com%2Fblog%2Fmisdiagnosis-jayden-wray-differential-diagnosis%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/linkedin-24x24.png)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Finfo.isabelhealthcare.com%2Fblog%2Fmisdiagnosis-jayden-wray-differential-diagnosis%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://static.hubspot.com/final/img/common/icons/social/twitter-24x24.png)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Finfo.isabelhealthcare.com%2Fblog%2Fmisdiagnosis-jayden-wray-differential-diagnosis%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Finfo.isabelhealthcare.com%2Fblog%2Fmisdiagnosis-jayden-wray-differential-diagnosis%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=Misdiagnosis%20of%20Jayden%20Wray%20shows%20need%20for%20diagnosis%20checklist%20tools) ![Jason Maude](https://info.isabelhealthcare.com/hubfs/jason_maude.jpg) #### [Jason Maude](https://info.isabelhealthcare.com/blog/author/jason-maude) Jason is the CEO and Co-founder of Isabel. Prior to co-founding Isabel, Jason spent 12 years working in finance and investment banking across Europe. His daughter, Isabel, fell seriously ill following a misdiagnosis in 1999 and this experience inspired Jason to abandon his city career and create Isabel Healthcare Ltd. ### Subscribe Here! ### Recent Posts ### [Meningococcal Infections: The Ongoing Need for Early Diagnosis in the UK (2026 Update)](https://info.isabelhealthcare.com/blog/meningococcal-infections-the-ongoing-need-for-early-diagnosis-in-the-uk-2026-update) Meningococcal infections (including meningococcal meningitis, meningococcal septicaemia, and.. ### [Isabel DDx Companion with ChatGPT Integration - to help you diagnose even faster](https://info.isabelhealthcare.com/blog/introducing-isabel-ddx-companion-with-llm-for-clinicians) At Isabel Healthcare, we’ve always been driven by one goal: to make clinical reasoning faster,.. ### List Of Categories - [Differential Diagnosis Decision Support](https://info.isabelhealthcare.com/blog/topic/differential-diagnosis-decision-support) - [Differential diagnosis](https://info.isabelhealthcare.com/blog/topic/differential-diagnosis) - 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