Differential Diagnosis. Differential Diagnosis: Pulmonary Pulmonary symptoms may be due to a variety of conditions. Suspected in patients with a history of smoking, occupational and environmental risk factors, or a personal or family history of chronic lung disease. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by airflow obstruction that is usually progressive, not fully reversible and does not change markedly over several months. A short summary of this paper. COPD: Differential Diagnosis 109 Fig. COPD is commonly misdiagnosed. from bronchogenic or metastatic cancer, lymphadenopathy, or scarring from an endotracheal tube) Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be confused in clinical diagnosis due to overlapping symptoms. Table 1. COPD Differential Diagnosis Module. Asthma is the most likely chronic airway disease in children and young adults, once infectious disease has been excluded. Differential Diagnosis for COPD Pulmonary sarcoidosis : The two main symptoms are shortness of breath and a persistent dry cough . The following are common differential diagnoses that should be considered, together with key diagnostic findings: Pneumonia. Establishing a diagnosis of COPD requires spirometry testing, interpreted in the context of the patient’s symptoms, smoking status, age, and comorbidities. Diagnosis: sequelae of tuberculosis. A diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis had been made 25 year ago and antituberculosis treatment was completed. Free PDF. Characteristics that differentiate COPD and asthma are summarised in Table 1. Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma treatment must be based on appropriate diagnosis. A doctor will not make a diagnosis of COPD based on arterial blood gas alone, but the results can be helpful in reaching a diagnosis. Patients with a history of COPD frequently present to the hospital with dyspnea. Differential Diagnosis of COPD. Raised venous pressure. This is right heart failure that is secondary to lung disease which is caused by pulmonary hypertension due to hypoxia. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Asthma: Differential Diagnosis. A 55-year old woman, nonsmoker, was s een as outpatient in a check-up, a spirometry revealed the presence of obstructive patterns. Most of them have AECOPD, but some don't. A A Font Size Share Print More Information. Heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represent the most important differential diagnoses of dyspnea in elderly people. The purpose of this study is to develop a method based on multivariate pulmonary sounds analysis for differential diagnosis of the two diseases. Pathological changes may begin years before symptoms appear. Download PDF Package. The differential diagnosis of COPD. If one includes all types of chronic generalized airways obstruction under the heading of “COPD,” diagnosis of this condition requires only the demonstration of an obstructive ventilatory impairment on spirometric testing that persists despite maximum medical therapy. Differential Diagnosis. COPD is a chronic disease of the lungs that develops when a person has been exposed for a long period of time to lung irritants. However, a history of orthopnea and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, the presence of fine basal crackles, and typical findings on chest radiographs can lead to the diagnosis of congestive heart failure. Once airflow obstruction is determined with spirometry, the next step is to determine the underlying cause and differentiate between asthma and COPD. The differential diagnosis of respiratory disorders is influenced by the age of the patient. Pulmonary Function Tests for Lung Disease. DDx. 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