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Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/Swine_flu/article6739528.ece
From The Times
August 5, 2009
Fatal illnesses could be misdiagnosed over telephone as swine flu, GPs warn
Sam Lister, Health Editor
Serious health problems including kidney infections, meningitis and measles are being missed because the conditions are being misdiagnosed over the telephone as swine flu.
A teenager spent six days in hospital recovering from a kidney infection after initially being told he was suffering from the H1N1 virus, it emerged yesterday. Doctors have reported seeing people with severe cases of tonsillitis, measles and even a knee infection who had received telephone misdiagnoses of swine flu and being put on courses of the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
A survey of 251 family doctors, published today, shows that 90 per cent believe that other diseases risk going undetected because their symptoms are similar to those caused by swine flu. Responses to the poll, carried out by GP newspaper, included warnings that deaths were likely as a result.
The warnings follow the case of Callum Meaker, 13, who became severely ill with a kidney infection after it was diagnosed over the phone as a probable H1N1 infection by Frendoc, an out-of-hours GP service in southwest England.
Callum, who lives near Bristol, had developed a temperature and suffered aches and dizziness, prompting the diagnosis. His mother, Karen Sarkozi, said that she had called the National Pandemic Flu Service , which had instructed her to contact her GP. On calling Frendoc she was told that a doctor?s visit was not possible, and that her son should be left to rest and recuperate while taking Tamiflu.
Ms Sarkozi said that her son?s temperature reached more than 104F (40C). He was suffering from a headache and shortness of breath and was unable to focus his sight, but at no point had a cough or the symptoms of a cold. She said that only after she persisted with the NHS was he eventually referred to Bristol Children?s Hospital where he was found to have a kidney infection. He spent six days on intravenous antibiotics before being discharged.
?They are saying everything is swine flu and serious illnesses are being overlooked,? Ms Sarkozi told the Bristol Evening Post. ?If a parent thinks more is wrong with their child, they should push for a doctor.?
Concerns about misdiagnosis were also raised by doctors in the GP poll on use of the National Pandemic Flu Service telephone and website services, which have been in operation for a fortnight. Half of doctors surveyed in the five days to Monday said that their workloads had diminished since its introduction.
One GP reported seeing a case of measles that had been diagnosed over the phone as swine flu, while another said that he had seen two patients with severe tonsillitis and one with a knee infection who had been prescribed Tamiflu.
Asked the question, ?Does diagnosing swine flu over the phone mean other diseases may be missed??, another responded: ?Without question. The symptoms are so vague and wideranging, swine flu can masquerade as a vast array of other diseases.?
Another said: ?A death will occur from meningitis.? Yet another said: ?Patients are making up symptoms in order to get Tamiflu and, for example, meningitis or tonsillitis or bronchitis/pneumonia may be missed.?
About 150,000 people received Tamiflu via the National Pandemic Flu Service in its first week of operation.
The Government said last week that the number of swine flu cases ?may have plateaued?, with 110,000 new cases in England in the last week of July. The figure represented a 10 per cent rise on the previous week.
South Gloucestershire ? where Callum Meaker received treatment ? was sixth-highest region for phone and internet diagnoses of swine flu.
Chris Payne, the director of public health for South Gloucestershire, said yesterday that the health authority would be investigating Callum?s case. ?It can be difficult to diagnose some illnesses if they present with flu-like symptoms,? he said. ?It is therefore very important that parents act on the national guidance which advises them to contact their GP if their child?s illness is still getting worse after five days. My advice is also that parents should ring their GP sooner if there are any particularly worrying symptoms.?
From The Times
August 5, 2009
Fatal illnesses could be misdiagnosed over telephone as swine flu, GPs warn
Sam Lister, Health Editor
Serious health problems including kidney infections, meningitis and measles are being missed because the conditions are being misdiagnosed over the telephone as swine flu.
A teenager spent six days in hospital recovering from a kidney infection after initially being told he was suffering from the H1N1 virus, it emerged yesterday. Doctors have reported seeing people with severe cases of tonsillitis, measles and even a knee infection who had received telephone misdiagnoses of swine flu and being put on courses of the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
A survey of 251 family doctors, published today, shows that 90 per cent believe that other diseases risk going undetected because their symptoms are similar to those caused by swine flu. Responses to the poll, carried out by GP newspaper, included warnings that deaths were likely as a result.
The warnings follow the case of Callum Meaker, 13, who became severely ill with a kidney infection after it was diagnosed over the phone as a probable H1N1 infection by Frendoc, an out-of-hours GP service in southwest England.
Callum, who lives near Bristol, had developed a temperature and suffered aches and dizziness, prompting the diagnosis. His mother, Karen Sarkozi, said that she had called the National Pandemic Flu Service , which had instructed her to contact her GP. On calling Frendoc she was told that a doctor?s visit was not possible, and that her son should be left to rest and recuperate while taking Tamiflu.
Ms Sarkozi said that her son?s temperature reached more than 104F (40C). He was suffering from a headache and shortness of breath and was unable to focus his sight, but at no point had a cough or the symptoms of a cold. She said that only after she persisted with the NHS was he eventually referred to Bristol Children?s Hospital where he was found to have a kidney infection. He spent six days on intravenous antibiotics before being discharged.
?They are saying everything is swine flu and serious illnesses are being overlooked,? Ms Sarkozi told the Bristol Evening Post. ?If a parent thinks more is wrong with their child, they should push for a doctor.?
Concerns about misdiagnosis were also raised by doctors in the GP poll on use of the National Pandemic Flu Service telephone and website services, which have been in operation for a fortnight. Half of doctors surveyed in the five days to Monday said that their workloads had diminished since its introduction.
One GP reported seeing a case of measles that had been diagnosed over the phone as swine flu, while another said that he had seen two patients with severe tonsillitis and one with a knee infection who had been prescribed Tamiflu.
Asked the question, ?Does diagnosing swine flu over the phone mean other diseases may be missed??, another responded: ?Without question. The symptoms are so vague and wideranging, swine flu can masquerade as a vast array of other diseases.?
Another said: ?A death will occur from meningitis.? Yet another said: ?Patients are making up symptoms in order to get Tamiflu and, for example, meningitis or tonsillitis or bronchitis/pneumonia may be missed.?
About 150,000 people received Tamiflu via the National Pandemic Flu Service in its first week of operation.
The Government said last week that the number of swine flu cases ?may have plateaued?, with 110,000 new cases in England in the last week of July. The figure represented a 10 per cent rise on the previous week.
South Gloucestershire ? where Callum Meaker received treatment ? was sixth-highest region for phone and internet diagnoses of swine flu.
Chris Payne, the director of public health for South Gloucestershire, said yesterday that the health authority would be investigating Callum?s case. ?It can be difficult to diagnose some illnesses if they present with flu-like symptoms,? he said. ?It is therefore very important that parents act on the national guidance which advises them to contact their GP if their child?s illness is still getting worse after five days. My advice is also that parents should ring their GP sooner if there are any particularly worrying symptoms.?