Common Misdiagnoses of Colonic Inertia

Colonic inertia refers to the failure of muscles or nerves in the colon to empty it properly. The result is constant constipation, which carries symptoms that include bloating, gas and abdominal discomfort. Colonic inertia may be caused by diseased nerves or muscles or the overuse of laxatives. Either way, surgery is usually necessary to correct the problem, and misdiagnosis delays the treatment, resulting in extended discomfort for patients.

Proper Diagnosis Procedure

One of the most effective ways to diagnose colonic inertia is to test how long it takes the colon to move feces. This requires patients to take special capsules for a few days before an X-ray, as each capsule has X-ray markers that help the doctor see how long the food takes to travel through the colon. The number of markers left in the colon is the number of hours it takes. The average amount is 35 so a patient whose colon takes longer, such as 72 hours or more, should be diagnosed with colonic inertia. The treatment consists of shortening the colon so it takes less time for food to travel through it.

Misread Diagnosis

Doctors who do not perform the timed test can easily misdiagnose colonic inertia since plenty of other conditions have symptoms that include bloating, constipation and abdominal pain. Even those who complete the test can misread the results, though.

One of the conditions most often confused for colonic inertia is Crohn's disease, which is a type of inflammatory bowel disease. The symptoms that also occur in cases of colonic inertia include abdominal pain, discomfort during bowel movements and constant constipation. However, many patients with Crohn's disease also suffer from a fever, fatigue and diarrhea, none of which tend to occur with colonic inertia. Doctors who perform the right tests to diagnose Chrohn's disease, including a colonoscopy and a barium enema, should not confuse the two conditions, but it occasionally happens.

Ulcerative colitis is another kind of inflammatory bowel disease that can result in abdominal pain before passing a stool. However, constipation is not one of the main symptoms nor is gas and bloating. Instead, weight loss, diarrhea and a fever tend to be common in patients with this condition. Therefore, doctors paying attention to symptoms should not confuse ulcerative colitis with colonic inertia.

Celiac disease results in a reaction when patients eat barley, rye and wheat since these foods contain gluten, to which such patients are allergic. Just as in colonic inertia, the symptoms of celiac disease include bloating, constipation and abdominal pain after eating gluten. However, this condition carries additional symptoms that include diarrhea, nausea and weight loss. These are not common in cases of colonic inertia, so doctors who confuse the two may not be very informed of the symptoms.

Contact an Attorney

If you suffer from colonic inertia, resulting in painful gas and bloating due to constipation, it is best to get treated right away to stop the discomfort. If your doctor has misdiagnosed you, subjecting you to the wrong treatment and keeping you in pain, get a lawyer to determine whether your physician was negligent.