Misdiagnosis of Meningitis

Alternative diagnoses list for Meningitis:

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

• Encephalitis
• Meningoencephalitis
• Flu - because meningitis has early flu-like symptoms
• Viral infections - another cause of flu-like symptoms.
• Subarachnoid haemorrhage
• Brain abscess
• Epidural abscess
• Vertebral osteomyelitis
• Mastoiditis
• Sinusitis
• Brain tumour
• Dural sinus thrombosis
• Non infectious meningeal irritation
• Gonococcemia
• Infective endocarditis
• TTP
• Rocky mountain spotted fever
• Viral exanthem
• Amebic meningoencephalitis

Diseases for which Meningitis may be an alternative diagnosis

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

• Acute Appendicitis
• Bacterial meningitis
• Cold & Flu
• Common cold
• Ehrlichiosis
• Encephalitis
• Flu
• Headache
• Kuru
• Meningococcal disease
• Photophobia
• Pneumococcal meningitis
• Reye's Syndrome
• Tetanus
• Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, acquired
• Viral meningitis

Meningitis: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?

Causes of Meningitis may include these medical conditions:

• Head injury - any injury causing skull fracture increases the risk of bacterial entry to the meninges.
• Certain infections can lead to meningitis:
  • Bacteremia
  • Otitis media
  • Sinusitis
  • Mastoiditis
• more causes...»

Meningitis: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:

• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Undiagnosed:
  • Adult ADHD -- Undiagnosed - ADHD can be undiagnosed in adults.
  • ADHD -- Undiagnosed
  • Alzheimer Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Migraine -- Undiagnosed
  • Concentration Disorders -- Undiagnosed
  • Stroke -- Undiagnosed
  • Bipolar Disorder -- Undiagnosed
  • Schizophrenia -- Undiagnosed
  • Epilepsy -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Common Misdiagnoses and Meningitis

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.

FUO in children: Fever of unknown origin in children is usually transient and subsides within 4- 5 days. Majority of them are of viral aetiology. The common causes of fever in children differ from that of adults. Some of the infectious causes include pneumonia, pharyngitis, sinusitis, meningitis and urinary tract infection. In some case it could be due to rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatic fever or neoplastic conditions like lymphoma and leukaemia.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage mimics migraine: Subarachnoid hemorrhage occurs due to spontaneous bleeding in the subarachnoid space. It presents with severe headache usually over the back, vomiting, and neck stiffness and severe cases with stroke. Due to the onset of sudden headache with vomiting it is often misdiagnosed as migraine or tension headache and treated symptomatically with analgesics. Sometimes the symptoms of headache, vomiting and neck stiffness favor meningitis. CT scan, lumbar puncture, blood investigations are the required investigations. Early diagnosis prevents mortality in these patients.

Meningitis: Rare Types

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

• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Rare Types:
  • Adult ADHD -- Rare Types
  • ADHD -- Rare Types
  • Alzheimer Disease -- Rare Types
  • Migraine -- Rare Types
  • Concentration Disorders -- Rare Types
  • Stroke -- Rare Types
  • Bipolar Disorder -- Rare Types
  • Schizophrenia -- Rare Types
  • Epilepsy -- Rare Types
  • Parkinson's Disease -- Rare Types
  • more ...»
• more rare diseases...»

Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Meningitis:

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

• Boy found to be suffering from meningococcal disease after initial chicken pox diagnosis
• Failure to diagnose meningococcal septicemia results in infant death
• Girl dies of meningitis after being sent home by doctors with flu
• Infant dies of meningitis after hospital helpline suggests colic
• Meningitis misdiagnosis often fatal
• Meningococcal test offers hope
• Misdiagnosis of meningitis results in boys leg amputations
• Predictors of meningitis
• Rare sexually transmitted disease re-emerging
• Three doctors cleared of manslaughter charges in meningitis death
• Young docs scrutinized after patient death
• More news »

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