Misdiagnosis of Gout

Alternative diagnoses list for Gout:

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

• Pseudogout - another crystal-induced arthritis but with calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals rather than gout's uric acid crystals; also called calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease, crystal deposition disease, or chondrocalcinosis.
• Bacterial joint infection
• Arthritis
• Osteoarthritis
• Cellulitis
• Septic arthritis (see Joint pain)
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Reactive arthritis
• Chronic lead poisoning
• Palindromic rheumatism
• Trauma
• Sarcoidosis
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Bursitis
• Rheumatoid nodules
• Erythema nodosum
• Gout
• Endocarditis
• Sarcoiditis
• Polyarteritis nodosa

Diseases for which Gout may be an alternative diagnosis

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

• Arthritis
• Gout
• Infectious arthritis
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteomyelitis
• Podagra
• Pseudogout
• Psoriatic Arthritis

Common Misdiagnoses and Gout

Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease is often over-diagnosed. Patients tend to assume that any memory loss or forgetulness symptom might be Alzheimer's, whereas there are many other less severe possibilities. Some level of memory decline is normal with aging, and even a slight loss of acuity may be noticed in the 30's and 40's. Other conditions can also lead a person to show greater forgetfulness. For example, depression and depressive disorders can cause a person to have reduced concentration and thereby poorer memory retention.

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.

Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease. The reality is that there are various possibilities, such as benign essential tremor, which is mostly harmless. see the various causes of tremor and misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's. The disease Fragile X disorder can show only mild symptoms in the early years, and Parkinsons-like symptoms around age 50. See misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Psoriatic arthritis often undiagnosed cause of joint conditions: Patients with the skin condition psoriasis can also have the related arthritis subtype called "psoriatic arthritis". This arthritic condition tends to be overlooked, even in patients with diagnosed psoriasis. See misdiagnosis of arthritis or psoriasis.

Adhesive capsulitis: Adhesive capsulitis is an acute inflammation affecting the gleno humeral joint which becomes fibrotic and contracted. It can arise spontaneously or after an injury. It is usually misdiagnosed as monoarticular rheumatoid arthritis, crystal arthropathy like gout and septic arthritis. The condition is generally worse in diabetics. The patient presents pain around the shoulder and outer border of the arm and radiates to the elbow. It is aggravated on activity. The condition can be diagnosed on high resolution ultrasound.

Misdiagnosis of knee pain: Finding the cause of a knee problem is a really difficult and challenging feature in general practice. The age of the presentation of a painful knee has varied significance as many conditions are age related. Onset of the pain is also important in determining the diagnosis as a rapid onset of painful knee swelling after injury indicates blood in the joint. Some of the common knee problems that can be misdiagnosed include osteonecrosis, loose bodies, gout, pseudogout, sarcoidosis, Paget’s disease and meniscal tears. There are several problems relating to knee problems that are difficult to diagnose but fortunately most of these problems can be diagnosed with the help of an X- ray.

General Misdiagnosis Articles

Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.

• Misdiagnosis Overview
• How Common is Misdiagnosis?
• Over-Diagnosed Diseases
• Under-Diagnosed Diseases
• Types of Misdiagnosis
• Wrong Type Misdiagnosis
• Why Does Misdiagnosis Occur?
• Difficult Diseases to Diagnose
• More premium medical articles ...

About misdiagnosis:

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