This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Differential diagnosis

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Differential diagnosis includes (2):

  • angio-oedema
  • vasovagal episodes
  • acute anxiety
  • pulmonary embolism
  • severe life-threatening asthma (3)
  • hypoglycaemia
  • seizures
  • septic shock (3)

Medical and nursing staff can have difficulty distinguishing between anaphylactic reactions, convulsions and fainting. Most convulsions reported after measles and rubella vaccine occurred within one hour and had features uggesting syncope rather than epileptic fits. Syncope is common after any injection in adolescents and adults.

Very young children rarely faint - sudden loss of consciousness at this age should be presumed to be anaphylaxis unless there is a strong central (carotid) pulse, which persists during a faint or convulsion.

If in doubt, treat the patient for anaphylaxis.

Reference:


Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page