Misdiagnosis of Appendicitis

Diseases for which Appendicitis may be an alternative diagnosis

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

• Crohn's disease
• Gallstones
• Gastroenteritis
• Lymphogranuloma venereum
• Mesenteric Adenitis
• Ovarian cysts
• Salpingitis
• Yersiniosis

Discussion of diagnosis/misdiagnosis of Appendicitis:

Some people have pain when gas is present in the intestine. When pain is on the left side of the colon, it can be confused with heart disease. When the pain is on the right side of the colon, it may mimic gallstones or appendicitis. (Source: excerpt from Gas in the Digestive Tract: NIDDK)

Misdiagnosis and Appendicitis

Undiagnosed acute appendicitis deadly in children: It is a sad reality that a child with acute appendicitis has a high likelihood of misdiagnosis. This misdiagnosis is a well-known cause of death, and indeed of malpractice lawsuits, in the medical industry. That it is often overlooks is somewhat understandable. Compared to other causes of abdominal pain, it is less common than simple explanations like gastroenteritis or food poisoning. The hallmark symptom of appendicitis, abominal pain located right at the navel, is also the way that young children report almost any type of abdominal discomfort. See the introduction to appendicitis and misdiagnosis of appendicitis.

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis: 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.

Medical news summaries about misdiagnosis of Appendicitis:

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

• 9 year old dies after misdiagnosis of strangulated bowel following appendicectomy
• Appendicitis operation uncovers Hodgkin’s disease
• Medical malpractice charge on anesthetist due to asphyxiation during surgery
• Minor illnesses contributing to pressure in the ER

Premium articles about Misdiagnosis:

This section lists our premium articles on topics related to Misdiagnosis. These are original authored articles on topics of great interest:

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

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