Misdiagnosis of Epilepsy
Alternative diagnoses list for Epilepsy:
For a diagnosis of Epilepsy,
the following list of conditions
have been mentioned in sources
as possible alternative diagnoses
to consider during the diagnostic process for Epilepsy:
Diseases for which Epilepsy may be an alternative diagnosis
The other diseases for which Epilepsy
is listed as a possible alternative
diagnosis in their lists include:
Epilepsy: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?
Causes of Epilepsy may include these medical conditions:
Rare Types of Epilepsy:
Epilepsy Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
- Differential Diagnosis - Aura
- Differential Diagnosis - Chorea
- Differential Diagnosis - Seizures/Convulsions
- Differential Diagnosis - Chorea
- Differential Diagnosis - Seizures – Childhood
- Differential Diagnosis - Seizures – Neonatal
- Approach to the Diagnosis - FASCICULATIONS
- Approach to the Diagnosis - TREMOR AND OTHER INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENTS
- History and physical examination - Aura
- History and physical examination - Fasciculations
- History and physical examination - Level of consciousness, decreased
- History and physical examination - Myoclonus
- History and physical examination - Seizures, generalized tonic-clonic
- History and physical examination - Seizures, simple partial
- History and physical examination - Seizures, absence
- History - Seizures, complex partial
- Diagnosis - Epilepsy
- History and physical examination - Aura
- History and physical examination - Fasciculations
- History and physical examination - Level of consciousness, decreased
- History and physical examination - Myoclonus
- History and physical examination - Seizures, generalized tonic-clonic
- History and physical examination - Seizures, simple partial
- History and physical examination - Seizures, absence
- History and physical examination - Seizures, complex partial
- History and physical examination - Chorea [Choreiform movements]
- History. - Seizures
- Differential Overview
- Seizures
- Diagnosis - Epilepsy
- History - Fasciculations
- History - Level of consciousness, decreased
- History - Myoclonus
- History - Seizures, generalized tonic-clonic
- History - Aura
- History - Chorea
- History - Level of consciousness, decreased
- History - Myoclonus
- History - Seizures, generalized tonic-clonic
- History - Seizures, simple partial
- History - Seizures, complex partial
- Clinical Features and Diagnosis - Seizures
- History and physical examination - Aura
- History and physical examination - Fasciculations
- History and physical examination - Level of consciousness, decreased
- History and physical examination - Myoclonus
- History and physical examination - Seizures, generalized tonic-clonic
- History and physical examination - Seizures, simple partial
- History and physical examination - Seizures, absence
- History and physical examination - Seizures, complex partial
- Approach to the Diagnosis - FASCICULATIONS
- Approach to the Diagnosis - TREMOR AND OTHER INVOLUNTARY MOVEMENTS
- I. History of Present Illness - Seizures - Case 19-1 8-Day-Old Girl
- I. History of Present Illness - Seizures - Case 19-2 10-Day-Old Boy
- I. History of Present Illness - Seizures - Case 19-3 8-Month-Old Boy
Epilepsy: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Common Misdiagnoses and Epilepsy
Epilepsy misdiagnosed as schizophrenia: The book "Preventing Misdiagnosis of Women" reports on a case
of a woman diagnosed with schizophrenia, but later diagnosed
with a form of epilepsy called "temporal lobe epilepsy".
A variety of sensory symptoms, such as the feeling of the floor rushing upwards,
were misdiagnosed as "paranoia".
See schizophrenia or epilepsy.
Various mental health symptoms caused by rare epilepsy: Temporal lobe epilepsy is a less common form
of epilepsy that does not have the typical physical seizures.
Patients can suffer from symptoms such as depression, moodiness, anger,
irritability, and misdiagnosis of this condition as depression is common.
Some patients also suffer hallucinations and other similar symptoms, or even
severe psychotic symptoms, making
a misdiagnosis of schizophrenia possible.
Mood changes and behavioral symptoms also make a misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder possible.
See the overview of temporal lobe epilespy.
Rare seizure-less epilepsy misdiagnosed as various conditions: A complex partial seizure disorder,
such as temporal lobe epilepsy
can be misdiagnosed as various conditions.
Some of the possible misdiagnoses include depression, bipolar disorder,
schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, multiple personality disorder,
somatization disorder, hypochrondria, an anxiety disorder, sexuality disorders,
hysteria,
and fugue.
Rare heart condition often undiagnosed: The rare heart condition called long QT syndrome can lead to episodes of palpitations
and rapid heartbeat.
In rare cases, this undiagnosed condition can be fatal.
It should be considered for any unexplained heart rhythm abnormality.
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.
Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency
is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple sclerosis).
See symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency or misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Misdiagnosis major pitfall in seizure disorders: The major pitfall associated with seizure disorders and
epilepsy is misdiagnosis. Not all seizures are of tonic clonic type. The most
commonly misdiagnosed seizure disorder is that of complex partial seizure. The
diagnosis of epilepsy is made on the history rather than any other
investigative evidence. The features of partial complex seizure have many variations.
The complex partial seizure may evolve into a generalised tonic- clonic
seizure. It is important to differentiate a fit from that of a behavioural
disorder, but it is difficult.
Long QT syndrome or epilepsy: This is a serious cardiac disorder which maybe congenital or acquired
due to intake of certain medications.It is characterized by the
prolongation of QT interval on ECG, in an otherwise young healthy
individual with no prior complaints. Although sometimes the patient may
give a history of fainting spells and chest pain especially while
exercising, swimming or during an emotional event. Since it can be
congenital it is imperative to seek evidence of sudden cardiac death in
family members especially at a young age. Long QT syndrome can
also present with seizures hence it is commonly misdiagnosed and
treated as epilepsy.Treatment involves medication and
sometimes patients may require a pacemaker.Certain lifestyle changes such as avoiding causative
drugs, strenuous exercises, swimming, contact sports, emotional
stress are advocated.
Epilepsy: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Epilepsy:
The following medical news items
are relevant to misdiagnosis of Epilepsy:
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Epilepsy
or confirming a diagnosis of Epilepsy,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Epilepsy may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Epilepsy.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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