Scott PMJ, Glover GW18 | All that wheezes is not asthma | 66 year old woman presented for an ENT consultation with a six week history of dysphonia. She had been treated for asthma over the preceding two years. Despite usual therapies her “asthma” had worsened. The cause of the airway compromise was found to be an adenoid carcinoma at the level of the cricoid cartilage. The case report highlights the difficulty of detecting upper airway obstruction of an insidious nature. |
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Fortunato FD 198019 | Tracheal papillomatosis in an asthmatic presenting as upper airway obstruction | 53 year old woman, with reversible airways obstruction presented with worsening breathlessness unresponsive to her usual bronchodilator and steroid therapy. Spirometry demonstrated flattening of inspiratory and expiratory phases of the flow-volume loop demonstrating intrathoracic obstruction. Laryngoscopy demonstrated multiple polyps originating from the subglottic region. |
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Coleman SA, Cooper PD 198720 | Upper airway obstruction misdiagnosed as asthma | Three cases described |
| | 61 year old woman with a benign laryngeal cyst. Treated by her GP for late onset asthma. Presented to the ED with stridor. |
| | 69 year old woman with bilateral vocal cord palsy resulting from previous thyroid surgery, she had experienced two previous episodes of acute dyspnoea, which settled spontaneously. Stridor was recognised in the ED. After endotracheal intubation a formal tracheostomy was performed. (Both intubation and tracheostomy were technically difficult. |