Misdiagnosis of Cough

Misdiagnosis and Cough

Sinusitis is overdiagnosed: There is a tendency to give a diagnosis of sinusitis, when the condition is really a harmless complication of another infection, such as a common cold.

Whooping cough often undiagnosed: Although most children in the Western world have been immunized against whooping cough (also called "pertussis"), this protection wears off after about 15 years. Thus, any teen or adult with a persistent cough may actually have whooping cough. This is particularly dangerous for babies too young to be vaccinated, and any un-vaccinated children. Whooping cough can be fatal to an infant. The cough symptoms of whooping cough is usually productive initially, but then becomes a persistent dry cough, lasting up to 100 days. Elderly grandparents may also be a reservoir of undiagnosed whooping cough.

Chronic lung diseases hard to diagnose: Some of the chronic lung diseases are difficult to diagnose. Even the well-knowns conditions such as asthma or lung cancer often fail to be diagnosed early. Some of the chronic lung diseases with diagnostic difficulties include asthma (perhaps surprisingly), COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, mesothelioma, smoker's cough, AIDS-related respiratory conditions (see AIDS), chronic pneumonia, and other respiratory diseases. Rare possibilities include diseases like psittacosis (bird-related lung infection). See other types of chronic lung diseases.

differentiate the causes of hemoptysis: Hemoptysis is the presence of blood in the sputum. Hemoptysis is graded according to the volume of blood. It points out to pathology in the lungs. The source of the bleeding is usually said to be the bronchial artery. The condition requires immediate treatment. Other symptoms associated along with hemoptysis must be looked into so as to categorize the disease from each other. Acute hemoptysis may present along with breathlessness in cases of pulmonary embolism and mitral stenosis which is a medical emergency. It can also occur in cases of chronic cough such as tuberculosis, bronchiectasis and lung carcinoma. A complete workup of the patient is required to rule out cardiac cause of hemoptysis from that of lung pathology

Meconium ileus- look for cystic fibrosis: Cystic fibrosis is the most common autosomal recessive paediatric illness. The defect in the normal transport of chloride ions leads to viscid secretions in the gut, lungs, liver and reproductive system. It also leads to increased salt content in sweat gland secretions. Early diagnosis and multisystemic care is important. The condition has to be differentiated from chronic pancreatitis and bronchiectasis. Early mortality can occur if the condition is not diagnosed soon.

Wegener's granulomatosis can be missed out: Wegener's granulomatosis is a condition of unknown etiology which usually affects the upper respiratory tract, lungs and the kidneys. This condition can turn to be pretty fatal initial diagnosis is not made. It is difficult to diagnose and most of the times the diagnosis is missed as the patients presents with generalised symptoms such as fever with respiratory illness. The condition can most often be misdiagnosed as a case of pneumonia, lung cancer, sarcoidosis or as a fungal infection of the lung. An early chest ray followed by CT scan helps in coming to a quick diagnosis.

Poor prognosis for small cell cancer of lung: Small cell cancer of the lung is the leading cause of death. It is an undifferentiated tumour, which usually involves the right upper lobe of the lung parenchyma. It can easily spread through blood to distant organs. At the time of diagnosis the tumour is well spread to other tissues, as the tumour is highly invasive. The tumour is associated with the production of hormones adrenocorticotropins or ACTH. Smoking is the risk factor for the formation of the tumour. The tumour is sensitive to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Surgery is usually not a treatment option even when the tumour is small. With treatment the survival can be upto one year.

More about Misdiagnosis

• Causes of Cough
• 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 ...

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