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Saturday 11 April 2015

Causes of wheezy chest that should not be missed!

Patients with wheezy chest are not always asthmatic, and not all asthmatic patients presenting with an acute wheezy chest will have actual acute asthmatic episode.

They following causes of wheezing should always be considered in the differential diagnosis when an alternative diagnosis is suspected:

  • Vocal cord dysfunction 
  • Foreign bodies
  • Left ventricular  failure 
  • Gastroesophageal reflux 
  • Airway lesion (tumour)

2 comments:

  1. Dr.hakeem I disagree with you in the 1st point. . . . . . . . . . vocal cord dysfunction should cause stridor I think instead of wheeze

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  2. Vocal cord dysfunction produces expiratory and ( not inspiratory) musical sound which is similar to wheeze and heard by stethoscope though it's also clear from distance and the patient is never distressed. The cause is thought to by psychological.
    In this condition , vocal cords approximate during expiration and they completely normal during inspiration. 

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