BACKGROUND: @entity15 is a chronic @entity6220 that presents with variable signs and symptoms. This variability in the clinical presentation may result in misdiagnosis, unnecessary referrals and misleading information to the @entity1 . OBJECTIVES: To identify the types of misdiagnoses made on the presentation of @entity15 . METHODS: Fifty consecutive @entity15 @entity1 were questioned on their early symptoms, their mental status, the disease course until the diagnosis was confirmed, and the different diagnoses they received. RESULTS: The @entity1 had been referred to 2.2 +/- 1.3 specialists before seeing a neurologist, and learned about their disease 3.5 years after the onset of symptoms. Twenty-nine @entity1 (58%) were initially given 41 wrong diagnoses. While the majority of @entity1 were misdiagnosed mentally, orthopedic work-up was offered to the @entity1 . Misdiagnosis of @entity15 occurred most often in @entity1 who presented with non-specific sensory symptoms that did not conform to a specific @entity16 . The @entity1 emphasized the fact that not knowing worsened their @entity148 , whereas receiving the diagnosis enabled them to begin coping with their disease. CONCLUSIONS: @entity15 is often overlooked when @entity1 present with non-specific sensory complaints. The difference in type of misdiagnosis between @entity1 and @entity1 may reflect a gender-dependent bias in the way physicians interpret sensory complaints.

Patterns of misdiagnosis of XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'patients', 'men'] @entity6220 :: ('MESH:D020279', 'Disease') :: ['demyelinating disease of the central nervous system'] @entity16 :: ('MESH:D009422', 'Disease') :: ['neurologic syndrome'] @entity148 :: ('MESH:D001008', 'Disease') :: ['anxiety'] @entity15 :: ('MESH:D009103', 'Disease') :: ['Multiple sclerosis', 'MS']
@entity15 :: (MESH:D009103,Disease) :: ['multiple sclerosis']
