A nagging cough could cause lung cancer to be misdiagnosed as pneumonia, bronchitis, or an infection. In COPD your oxygen and carbon dioxide levels gradually worsen. COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma are two respiratory diseases. Infections such as pneumonia can cause a sudden worsening of symptoms, known as a COPD exacerbation, which can be life-threatening. 2 However, pulmonary fibrosis is a rare disease. As an airborne disease, it can be spread when an individual with TB coughs, sneezes, or speaks. 18% of pneumonia Fortunately, by carefully evaluating your symptoms and undergoing diagnostic tests, your doctor can help to determine whether it is in fact COPD … In some cases, it's very hard to differ these two disease in CT scan. One thing it may be misdiagnosed as is COPD. Many times a PE is misdiagnosed as a stroke, heart attack or pneumonia. COPD is caused by smoking, and asthma is caused by your genes and how they interact with your environment. By signing up, you'll get thousands of step-by-step solutions to your homework questions. His first symptom i.e. Due to the widely misunderstood nature of cancer, cancer misdiagnosis is among the most common type of medical misdiagnosis. Any respiratory infection can make it much more difficult to breathe and could cause further damage to lung tissue. Because the signs and symptoms of early-stage asbestosis closely resemble the symptoms of pneumonia, many doctors misdiagnose asbestosis as pneumonia. COPD may resemble other conditions such as heart failure, a lung infection (pneumonia), asthma, and interstitial lung disease, among other things. It is the 7th leading cause of death in the world. Blood tests and sputum cultures can be helpful to make the diagnosis of pneumonia. It affects between 132,000 and 200,000 in the US. If the condition is misdiagnosed or its symptoms are ignored, a patient may not receive appropriate treatment until the cancer has progressed to an advanced stage. In general, pneumonia is easily treatable, but when left undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, it can become serious quickly. It’s important to understand, though, that even a mild viral pneumonia can weaken your airways so that you become even more at risk for bacterial infection. Advanced pneumonia can lead to respiratory distress causing serious or even fatal side effects. In some cases, lung infection can be caused by lung cancer and can't be healed by anti-biotics. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) limits airflow from the lungs due to inflammation of the organ’s tissue. And without enough oxygen, you may have other problems. ANSWER: Pneumonia is an infection typically causing inflammation in the lungs. While neither of these conditions is necessarily fatal, when they are the main difference is speed. It affects over 210 million people worldwide and over 16 million US adults. COPD makes it hard to breathe in as much air as you need. Can Pneumonia Look Like Something Else on an X-ray?. Pneumonia is a very serious condition, and when it is not treated properly, it can be fatal for some patients. Two cases were misdiagnosed as tuberculosis. Lung infection have evident symptom and can be healed by anti-biotics in a month or a little longer. People with COPD are more likely to catch colds, the flu and pneumonia. MD My mother-in-law is having trouble breathing she went to urgent care they took xrays . In order to avoid a misdiagnosis, those with known asbestos exposure and symptoms should get a second opinion from a mesothelioma specialist. Similar symptoms between the two diseases include a feeling of tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, cough, and wheezing.