Misdiagnosis of Meningitis

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes (meninges) and cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and the spinal cord.  It is usually caused by an infection.  The infection may be viral, bacterial or fungal.  In some cases, meningitis will resolve on its own (in the case of viral meningitis) but some cases can become life-threatening if left untreated. 

Early Detection Can Prevent Serious Complications

Early detection of meningitis is key to preventing serious complications.  Early detection can be difficult though because the initial symptoms are also symptoms for other illnesses.  Some symptoms include:

• Severe headache
• Vomiting or nausea with headache
• Difficulty concentrating
• Seizures
• Loss of appetite
• Sensitivity to light
• Stiff neck
• Difficulty sleeping

Detecting meningitis in children or infants can be even more difficult because a child cannot describe their symptoms.  An infant who cries constantly, is irritable, doesn’t eat or is stiff might be showing signs of meningitis. Of course these are also symptoms of other non-serious illnesses so a doctor must have some indication that there may be a serious condition to justify testing for meningitis. 

Misdiagnosis

Doctors who fail to use proper care in ordering tests and taking preventative measures can be held legally responsible for the resulting injury caused by the failure to detect meningitis. If left untreated, some cases of bacterial meningitis can be fatal.  As noted by the symptoms listed above, the symptoms for meningitis are similar to the symptoms for influenza, migraines, and other more common illnesses.

A doctor who examines a patient with these symptoms, who dismisses the possibility that the illness may be meningitis, or another serious illness, may be found to be at fault if the patient does in fact have meningitis. Bacterial meningitis can be detected in patients through blood testing, which is not an expensive test and is simple for a doctor to do in his office.  A doctor should also give instructions to a patient as to symptoms to watch for in the future.  A person may present with a headache and loss of appetite, but the doctor could warn the patient to return if he gets a stiff neck.  Typically, the sooner a person is treated for bacterial meningitis, the less the severe the illness. (More info on Late Diagnosis of Meningitis).

See also: Common Misdiagnoses of Bacterial Meningitis

Do You Need Legal Help?

In order for a doctor to be negligent for misdiagnosis of meningitis, he must have acted negligently in some way which means he must have missed something a competent doctor would not have missed. It can be difficult to prove a doctor was negligent in the case of misdiagnosing meningitis because it does present with symptoms that would not appear to be serious. A medical malpractice attorney can work with medical experts to better understand the clues your doctor had and whether a mistake was made in the misdiagnosis.