Misdiagnosis of Chronic cough
Alternative diagnoses list for Chronic cough:
For a diagnosis of Chronic cough,
the following list of conditions
have been mentioned in sources
as possible alternative diagnoses
to consider during the diagnostic process for Chronic cough:
Rare Types of Chronic cough:
Chronic cough: Medical Mistakes
Related medical mistakes may include:
Chronic cough: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Common Misdiagnoses and Chronic 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.
Chronic cough: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
Failure To Diagnose Chronic cough
Failure to diagnose Chronic cough may be associated with the following:
- Chronic cough has many possible causes and the exact cause can be difficult to determine. Co-existing symptoms can be very important in directing the health professional towards the right diagnosis
- Chronic cough may sometimes be ignored by the patient (and in some cases the doctor) as a harmless symptom which will resolve itself with time
- The difficulty with diagnosing a chronic cough increases when there are several conditions contributing to the symptom
- An undiagnosed chronic cough can cause exhaustion, poor sleep, headaches and may affect social and work environment. In some cases, excessive coughing can result in sore respiratory muscles and even broken ribs
- When a chronic cough fails to respond to treatment, further advice should be sought as the cause may have been misdiagnosed
- Chronic cough in children may remain undiagnosed for a long period of time if the parents fail to notice they symptom, are to busy to seek advice or simply believe it is harmless and will resolve on its own
Notes On Hidden Causes Of Chronic cough
The following may be hidden causes of Chronic cough:
- Causes of chronic cough in children are: asthma allergic rhinitis sinusitis postnasal drip foreign body aspiration bronchitis lower respiratory tract abscess pertussis chronic infection tuberculosis mitral stenosis left ventricular failure fungal infection parasitic infection non-tuberculous mycobacteria pulmonary hypertension congestive heart failure interstitial lung disease collagen vascular disease cytotoxic drugs prior chest radiation hypersensitivity pneumonitis sarcoidosis bronchopulmonary dysplasia neoplastic disease aspiration neurological abnormality resulting in aspiration dysfunctional swallowing laryngeal abnormalities palate abnormalities enlarged tonsils enlarged adenoids gastroesophageal reflux tracheoesophageal fistula cystic fibrosis primary ciliary dyskinesia previous severe pneumonia immunodeficiency structural airway lesions habit congenital lung lesions bronchiectasis hemosiderosis clotting disorders ACE inhibitor use tobacco smoke and environmental pollution. Of these, postnasal drip syndrome, GERD and asthma are the most common causes
Notes On Wrong Diagnosis Of Chronic cough
Wrong diagnosis of Chronic cough may be associated with the following:
- Misdiagnosis of a chronic cough can result in an ineffective treatment which can lead to a deterioration in the condition causing the cough
Other Notes On Misdiagnosis Of Chronic cough
- A persistent cough should never be ignored it may be caused by a serious condition
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Chronic cough
or confirming a diagnosis of Chronic 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 Chronic cough may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Chronic cough.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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Undiagnosed Chronic cough
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