Osteoarthritis as a misdiagnosis in elderly patients.

Musculoskeletal disorders are very common in the elderly, and x-ray evidence of irreversible damage due to osteoarthritis is found in probably all older people. Thus, when confronted by various pain symptoms in an older patient, the physician must always include osteoarthritis in the differential diagnosis. However, potentially reversible causes for the problem are too often ignored, and a misdiagnosis of osteoarthritis prevents or delays effective treatment of the actual underlying problem, with potentially serious consequences. Six case studies are offered illustrating this problem and pointers in differential diagnosis are suggested.