Failure to Diagnose

Lewy body dementia refers to a particular kind of dementia that has three possible initial presentations. New Yorkers who have LBD are sometimes misdiagnosed as having Alzheimer’s because the two conditions have some of the same symptoms. This can be harmful to people with LBD because they may respond positively to some dementia medications that are less likely to be prescribed if they are erroneously diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and because people with LBD may respond negatively to some Alzheimer’s drugs, sometimes with lasting side effects.

Typically, cellulitis is diagnosed based on how the affected area looks and what the patient reports as symptoms. There are a number of other skin conditions that might have symptoms similar to those of cellulitis, so it is sometimes misdiagnosed. Cellulitis is a bacterial skin infection that causes skin inflammation. New York residents might be interested in the results of a study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital that demonstrates early dermatologist consultation for patients who were thought to have cellulitis improved outcomes and prevented misdiagnoses.

When it’s suspected that a New York patient has interstitial lung disease (ILD), diagnosis typically involves invasive techniques such as checking a tissue sample and performing a bronchoscopy with specialized instruments to view airways. According to a study specific to ILD and similar pulmonary conditions, routine rheumatology assessments may minimize the need for more invasive diagnostic procedures in some instances. Researchers also believe diagnosis accuracy may be improved with adjustments to testing processes.

When New York men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, doctors might also use a test known as prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography imaging to determine whether the cancer has metastasized. When PSMA is detected as a highly expressive enzyme in tissue, it can be an indication that the cancer is spreading.

People in New York typically approach eye doctors when they are experiencing eye pain or vision problems. Time constraints on doctors and their failure to think about alternative diagnoses could result in diagnostic mistakes when patients present with symptoms somewhat out of the ordinary. An analysis of 122 patients diagnosed with acute optic neuritis and referred to a university neuro-ophthalmology clinic determined that 59.8 percent of them had received the wrong diagnosis.

Some older people in New York who are in the early stages of age-related macular degeneration may not be properly diagnosed. A study by researchers at the University of Alabama, Birmingham that was published in “JAMA Ophthalmology” found that one quarter of patients who had signs of the condition were not diagnosed.