Ten misconceptions regarding decision-making in critical care

Table 2 Common cognitive biases encountered in critical care decision making

Cognitive bias	Description
Anchoring bias	Relying too heavily on the first information received when making decisions
Availability bias	Judging a diagnosis as more likely if it quickly and readily comes to mind
Confirmation bias	Selectively seeking information to support a diagnosis rather than information to refute it
Diagnostic momentum	Attaching diagnostic labels and not reevaluating them
Dunning-Kruger effect	The tendency for a novice to overestimate their skills
Framing effect	Arriving at different conclusions depending on how the information is presented
Hindsight bias	Interpreting past events as more predictable than they actually are
Premature closure	Finalizing a diagnosis without full confirmation
Sunk cost bias	Difficulty considering alternatives when time, effort, and energy are invested in a particular diagnosis

The table was adapted from Lighthall et al[75] and Webster et al[76].