Misdiagnosis of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence
Misdiagnosis of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence
It may be difficult to diagnose the underlying cause of overactive bladder/urinary incontinence....more about Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence »
Alternative diagnoses list for Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence:
For a diagnosis of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence,
the following list of conditions
have been mentioned in sources
as possible alternative diagnoses
to consider during the diagnostic process for Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence:
Rare Types of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence:
Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence: Medical Mistakes
Related medical mistakes may include:
Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence: Undiagnosed Conditions
Commonly undiagnosed conditions in related areas may include:
Common Misdiagnoses and Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence
Alzheimer's disease over-diagnosed: The well-known disease of Alzheimer's disease
is often over-diagnosed.
Patients tend to assume that any memory loss or forgetulness symptom might be Alzheimer's,
whereas there are many other less severe possibilities.
Some level of memory decline is normal with aging,
and even a slight loss of acuity may be noticed in the 30's and 40's.
Other conditions can also lead a person to show greater forgetfulness.
For example, depression and depressive disorders can cause a person to
have reduced concentration and thereby poorer memory retention.
Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for
a patient to show mental decline to dementia.
Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,
such as a stroke or Alzheimer's disease,
it can also occur from a side effect or interaction between multiple drugs
that the elderly patient may be taking.
There are also various other possible causes of dementia.
Tremor need not be Parkinson's disease: There is the tendency to believe that
any tremor symptom, or shakiness, means Parkinson's disease.
The reality is that there are various possibilities, such as benign essential tremor,
which is mostly harmless.
see the various causes of tremor and misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Rare diseases misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease: A rare genetic
disorder is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease for men in their 50's.
The disease Fragile X disorder can show only mild symptoms in the early years,
and Parkinsons-like symptoms around age 50.
See misdiagnosis of Parkinson's disease.
Interstitial cystitis an under-diagnosed bladder condition: The medical
condition of interstitial cystitic is a bladder condition that can be
misdiagnosed as various conditions such as overactive bladder or other causes of pelvic pain.
This condition can cause chronic pelvic pain or symptoms of urinary incontinence,
similar to overactive bladder.
Millions of patients may be misdiagnosed - an estimated third of the 9 million women with
chronic pelvic pain (CPP) or 4.5 million of the 17 million women with overactive bladder syndrome
do not respond well to treatment, and may have interstitial cystitis rather than their given diagnosis.
In other words, about 6 million US women may have misdiagnosed interstitial cystitis.
See interstitial cystitis or overactive bladder, or incontinence.
Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence: Rare Types
Rare types of medical disorders and diseases in related medical areas:
Failure To Diagnose Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence
Failure to diagnose Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence may be associated with the following:
- Urinary incontinence and overactive bladders are often undiagnosed in older people as they often fail to see a doctor as they believe it is a normal part of aging. Other people who suffer from urinary problems don't seek medical advice because they are too embarrassed to discuss the matter with their doctor. Similarly, doctors also often fail to question their patients about urinary incontinence even if they have risk factors such as recent pregnancy or diabetes mellitus
- Depending on the cause, some cases of urinary incontinence may be completely cured and in most cases, the symptoms are at least able to be minimized or managed. Undiagnosed and untreated urinary incontinence can have a severe impact on the quality of life
- Some people fail to seek treatment for urinary incontinence as they believe that there is no effective treatment
- Women who have had babies or abdominal surgeries also often fail to report the urinary symptoms as they believe that they are normal for women who have had a pregnancy or abdominal surgery
Notes On Hidden Causes Of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence
The following may be hidden causes of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence:
- Pregnancy can cause stress incontinence
- Prostate surgery may result in urinary incontinence
- An obstruction to the outflow of urine may cause the bladder to be always full which can cause the urine to overflow and result in urinary incontinence
- Other underlying causes of urinary incontinence include local bladder irritation (infection, bladder stones, inflammation, tumor), stroke and cervical stenosis
- Interstitial cystitis and spinal cord injury may be underlying causes of urinary incontinence
- A hidden cause of urinary incontinence may be medications such as diuretics, anticholinergics, antidepressants, alpha-blockers, sedatives, narcotics, calcium channel blockers and some diet, allergy and cold medications. These medications may be the primary cause of urinary problems (especially in older people) and may also exacerbate existing urinary incontinence
- Overlooked causes of urinary incontinence include bladder cancer, chronic bacteriuria, acute cystitis and atrophic urethritis
- Hidden causes of overflow incontinence (due to urine retention) are impacted faeces, prostatic enlargement, vesical neck and urethral strictures, certain medications (e.g. anticholinergics), pelvic mass and autonomic neuropathy
- Some debilitated patients suffer from urinary incontinence because they are physically less able to access the toilet
- Possible underlying neurological causes of urinary incontinence include: spinal cord injury, pelvic surgery, pelvic and sacral fracture, herniated disc and infectious neurological processes such as AIDS, neurosyphilis, herpes zoster, herpes simplex and Lyme disease. Neurological problems resulting in urinary incontinency may also be caused by conditions such as diabetes mellitus, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, dementia and Alzheimer's disease
- Anticholinergic drugs are often used to treat an overactive bladder. Sometimes, this treatment leads to poor bladder emptying and increased retention of urine which can lead to urinary incontinence
- Psychogenic factors such as depression and alcohol may cause urinary incontinence
- Underlying causes of urinary incontinence in children may include ectopic ureter, neurogenic bladder, spinal cord abnormalities (sacral agenesis, caudal regression syndrome) and psychological stress such as emotional trauma, observed domestic violence and child abuse
Notes On Wrong Diagnosis Of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence
Wrong diagnosis of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence may be associated with the following:
- Accidental leakage of urine may be a result of urinary incontinence and an overactive bladder. The two conditions may be hard to distinguish. They may also be misdiagnosed as a urinary tract infection which can also cause leakage of urine
- Urinary incontinence may be misdiagnosed as prostate disease in males
- Urinary incontinence can be caused by detrusor hyperactivity with impaired detrusor contractility (DHIC). In females where weak DHIC contractions are not detected, they may be misdiagnosed with stress incontinence. Men may be misdiagnosed as having a blockage in the urinary outflow due to common symptoms such as urinary urgency and frequency and a weak flow rate
- The underlying cause of urinary incontinence is often misdiagnosed when there is more than one cause. For example, diabetic neuropathy may exist with a urinary tract infection
- Urinary system abnormalities such as an abnormal opening between the bladder and the vagina may be misdiagnosed as urinary incontinence due to a urinary infection or some other cause of urinary incontence
- Obstruction of the urinary outflow (e.g. tumor or fecal impaction) resulting in urinary incontinence may be misdiagnosed as a stress related urinary problem
General Misdiagnosis Articles
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
About misdiagnosis:
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence
or confirming a diagnosis of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence,
it is useful to consider what other
medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative
conditions relevant to diagnosis.
These alternate diagnoses of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence may already have
been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible
alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Overactive bladder/urinary incontinence.
For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases,
see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
