Misdiagnosis of Obstructive sleep apnea
Misdiagnosis of Obstructive sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea misdiagnosis:
Sleep apnea was cited by Reader's Digest as one of the top 10 misdiagnosed diseases.
In the article entitled "10 Diseases Doctors Miss", the 10 diseases mentioned were
hepatitis C, lupus, celiac disease, hemochromatosis, aneurysm,
Lyme disease, hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS),
chlamydia, and sleep apnea.
1...more about Obstructive sleep apnea »
Alternative diagnoses list for Obstructive sleep apnea:
For a diagnosis of Obstructive sleep apnea,
the following list of conditions
have been mentioned in sources
as possible alternative diagnoses
to consider during the diagnostic process for Obstructive sleep apnea:
Diseases for which Obstructive sleep apnea may be an alternative diagnosis
The other diseases for which Obstructive sleep apnea
is listed as a possible alternative
diagnosis in their lists include:
Obstructive sleep apnea: Hidden Causes Misdiagnosed?
Causes of Obstructive sleep apnea may include these medical conditions:
Obstructive sleep apnea Diagnosis: Book Excerpts
Obstructive sleep apnea: Medical Mistakes
Related medical mistakes may include:
Obstructive sleep apnea: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Common Misdiagnoses and Obstructive sleep apnea
Mild worm infections undiagnosed in children: Human worm infestations, esp. threadworm, can be overlooked in some cases,
because it may cause only mild or even absent symptoms.
Although the most common symptoms are anal itch (or vaginal itch),
which are obvious in severe cases,
milder conditions may fail to be noticed in children.
In particular, it may interfere with the child's good night's sleep.
Threadworm is a condition to consider in children with symptoms such as bedwetting (enuresis),
difficulty sleeping, irritability, or other sleeping symptoms.
Visual inspection of the region can often see the threadworms, at night when they are active,
but they can also be missed this way, and multiple inspections can be warranted if worms are suspected.
See the introduction to threadworm.
Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the
more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed
(it can, of course, also fail to be diagnosed with fatal effect).
One of the most common misdiagnosed is for children with mesenteric adenitis
to be misdiagnosed as appendicitis.
Fortunately, thus misdiagnosis is usually less serious than the reverse failure to diagnose appendicitis.
RLS sleep disorder causing night-time leg sensations often misdiagnosed: A common but relatively unknown
sleep-related disorder called Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is often misdiagnosed.
The typical symptoms are night-time tingling, crawling, or burning sensations in the legs,
with the irresistable urge to move the legs.
This need for leg movement leads to tossing and turning, or getting up out of bed,
all of which interferes with the ability to fall asleep.
The sufferer then has the typical symptoms of sleep deprivation during the day: fatigue, tiredness,
morning headaches, irritability, poor concentration and so on.
This condition is sometimes misdiagnosed as other conditions
such as ADHD, sleep disorders, other causes of insomnia, or other causes of leg tingling.
Many patients also suffer from a related disorder called
Periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), which causes leg spasms
or other jerky movements.
See introduction to RLS or introduction to PLMD.
Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue
with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure.
The "cuff" around the arm to measure blood pressure can simply be too small to accurately
test a child's blood pressure.
This can lead to an incorrect diagnosis of a child with hypertension.
The problem even has a name unofficially: "small cuff syndrome".
See misdiagnosis of hypertension.
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.
Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Obstructive sleep apnea:
The following medical news items
are relevant to misdiagnosis of Obstructive sleep apnea:
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Obstructive sleep apnea
or confirming a diagnosis of Obstructive sleep apnea,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Obstructive sleep apnea may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Obstructive sleep apnea.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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