Misdiagnosis of Cough
Misdiagnosis of Cough
Diagnosing a cough and its cause may be delayed or missed because in some cases, a cough may not be severe enough for a person to seek medical care. In addition, diagnosing the underlying or associated disease, disorder or condition can be delayed because noticeable symptoms, such as a cough, may not occur immediately, such as in lung cancer. A cough is a symptom of many different conditions, so a thorough medical evaluation is needed to ensure an accurate diagnosis of the reason for a cough....more about Cough »
Cough Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
- Ask the Following Questions - HEMOPTYSIS
- Ask the Following Questions - SORE THROAT
- Ask the Following Questions - STRIDOR
- DIAGNOSTIC WORKUP - WHEEZING
- Ask the following questions - COUGH
- Differential Diagnosis - Hemoptysis
- Differential Diagnosis - Sore Throat
- Differential Diagnosis - Cough - Productive
- Differential Diagnosis - Cough - Nonproductive
- Differential Diagnosis - Stridor & Wheezing
- Differential Diagnosis - Hemoptysis
- Differential Diagnosis - Sore Throat
- Differential Diagnosis - Stridor
- Differential Diagnosis - Wheezing
- Differential Diagnosis - Cough – Acute
- Differential Diagnosis - Cough – Chronic
- Approach to the Diagnosis - HEMOPTYSIS
- Approach to the Diagnosis - SORE THROAT
- Approach to the Diagnosis - COUGH
- Approach to the Diagnosis - STRIDOR AND SNORING
- History and physical examination - Hemoptysis
- History and physical examination - Stridor
- History and physical examination - Cough, productive
- History and physical examination - Cough, barking
- History and physical examination - Cough, nonproductive
- History and physical examination - Wheezing [Sibilant rhonchi]
- Diagnosis - Whooping cough
- History and physical examination - Hemoptysis
- History and physical examination - Stridor
- History and physical examination - Cough, productive
- History and physical examination - Cough, barking
- History and physical examination - Cough, nonproductive
- History and physical examination - Wheezing [Sibilant rhonchi]
- History - Hemoptysis
- History - Stridor
- History - Wheezing
- History - Cough
- Differential Overview - Hemoptysis
- Differential Overview - Sore Throat
- Differential Overview - Wheezing
- Differential Overview - Acute Cough
- Differential Overview - Chronic Cough
- History - Hemoptysis
- History - Stridor
- History - Wheezing
- History - Cough, productive
- History - Cough, barking
- History - Hemoptysis
- History - Stridor
- History - Wheezing
- History - Cough, productive
- History - Cough, barking
- History - Cough, nonproductive
- Clinical Features and Diagnosis - Hemoptysis
- Clinical Features and Diagnosis - Sore Throat
- Clinical Features and Diagnosis - Wheezing
- Clinical Features and Diagnosis - Cough
- Clinical Features and Diagnosis - Stertor, Stridor, and Airway Obstruction
- History and physical examination - Hemoptysis
- History and physical examination - Stridor
- History and physical examination - Cough, productive
- History and physical examination - Cough, barking
- History and physical examination - Cough, nonproductive
- History and physical examination - Wheezing [Sibilant rhonchi]
- Approach to the Diagnosis - HEMOPTYSIS
- Approach to the Diagnosis - SORE THROAT
- Approach to the Diagnosis - STRIDOR AND SNORING
- Approach to the Diagnosis - COUGH
- I. History of Present Illness - Cough - Case 4-2 7-Week-Old Boy
- I. History of Present Illness - Cough - Case 4-3 7-Month-Old Girl
- I. History of Present Illness - Cough - Case 4-6 4-Month-Old Boy
Cough: Medical Mistakes
Related medical mistakes may include:
Cough: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Common Misdiagnoses 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.
Cough: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Cough:
The following medical news items
are relevant to misdiagnosis of Cough:
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Cough
or confirming a diagnosis of Cough,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Cough may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Cough.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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