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Diseases » Delirium » Misdiagnosis
 

Misdiagnosis of Delirium

Contents
  1. Delirium: Introduction
  2. Alternative Diagnoses List
  3. Possible Misdiagnoses
  4. Common Misdiagnoses
  5. News about Misdiagnosis
  6. Misdiagnosis Center
  7. Delirium: Introduction
  8. Symptoms: Delirium
  9. Treatments
  10. Tests

Alternative diagnoses list for Delirium:

For a diagnosis of Delirium, the following list of conditions have been mentioned in sources as possible alternative diagnoses to consider during the diagnostic process for Delirium:

Diseases for which Delirium may be an alternative diagnosis

The other diseases for which Delirium is listed as a possible alternative diagnosis in their lists include:

Delirium: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?

Causes of Delirium may include these medical conditions:

Delirium Diagnosis: Book Excerpts

Delirium: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:

Common Misdiagnoses and Delirium

Underactive thryoid may be misdiagnosed as depression: Hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, is an endocrine gland disorder that is more common in women. It can mimic many diseases, including depression. The patient often has depressive type symptoms, and may also have other symptoms of hypothyroidism such as tingling fingers (peripheral neuropathy), hearing loss, headaches, cold insensitivity, and many other symptms. Common misdiagnoses of hypothyroidism include depression, dementia, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder (esp. rapid-cycling bipolar disorder).

Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness because he suffered from sudden inability to speak. This was initially misdiagnosed as a "nervous breakdown" and other mental conditions. He was later diagnosed as having had a stroke, and suffering from aphasia (inability to speak), a well-known complication of stroke (or other brain conditions).

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for a patient to show mental decline to dementia. Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions, such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease, it can also occur from a side effect or interaction between multiple drugs that the elderly patient may be taking. There are also various other possible causes of dementia.

Mild traumatic brain injury often remains undiagnosed: Although the symptoms of severe brain injury are hard to miss, it is less clear for milder injuries, or even those causing a mild concussion diagnosis. The condition goes by the name of "mild traumatic brain injury" (MTBI). MTBI symptoms can be mild, and can continue for days or weeks after the injury. See the symptoms of MTBI or misdiagnosis of MTBI.

MTBI misdiagnosed as balance problem: When a person has symptoms such as vertigo or dizziness, a diagnosis of brain injury may go overlooked. This is particularly true of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), for which the symptoms are typically mild. The symptoms has also relate to a relatively mild brain injury (e.g. fall), that could have occurred days or even weeks ago. Vestibular dysfunction, causing vertigo-like symptoms, is a common complication of mild brain injury. See causes of dizziness, causes of vertigo, or misdiagnosis of MTBI.

Brain pressure condition often misdiagnosed as dementia: A condition that results from an excessive pressure of CSF within the brain is often misdiagnosed. It may be misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease or dementia (such as Alzheimer's disease). The condition is called "Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus" (NPH) and is caused by having too much CSF, i.e. too much "fluid on the brain". One study suggested that 1 in 20 diagnoses of dementia or Parkinson's disease were actually NPH. See misdiagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Post-concussive brain injury often misdiagnosed: A study found that soldiers who had suffered a concussive injury in battle often were misdiagnosed on their return. A variety of symptoms can occur in post-concussion syndrome and these were not being correctly attributed to their concussion injury. See introduction to concussion.

Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients. These patients are not the typical migraine sufferers, but migraines can also occur in children. See misdiagnosis of migraine or introduction to migraine.

Dementia to be spotted early on: Dementia is an important diagnosis to consider in the elderly. A vigorous search for a possible cause of dementia is warranted since there are significant numbers of reversible conditions. It is important to exclude the psychiatric conditions that may mimic dementia. Some of the common conditions which have to be kept in mind so as to avoid misdiagnosis include delirium, depression, head trauma, cerebrovascular accidents, drugs and schizophrenia. Treatment is aimed at controlling the psychotic symptoms or disturbed behaviour.

Delirium: Rare Types

Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:

Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Delirium:

The following medical news items are relevant to misdiagnosis of Delirium:

General Misdiagnosis Articles

Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.

About misdiagnosis:

When checking for a misdiagnosis of Delirium or confirming a diagnosis of Delirium, it is useful to consider what other medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative conditions relevant to diagnosis. These alternate diagnoses of Delirium may already have been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Delirium. For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases, see Overview of Misdiagnosis.


 » Next page: Undiagnosed Delirium

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