[Dyspnoea caused by upper-airway obstruction: simple diagnosis by establishing a flow-volume loop].
Three patients, men aged 72, 78 and 19 years, experienced shortness of breath and laboured breathing. All three had an upper-airway obstruction detected by a flow-volume loop and confirmed by bronchoscopy. The first patient had oesophageal carcinoma with vocal-cord paralysis and soon died. The second patient had a large struma; flow-volume loop improved after strumectomy. The third patient was diagnosed with extragonadal testicular carcinoma. The flow-volume loop improved after the first chemotherapy session. Flow-volume loop is an easy, non-invasive diagnostic tool that can be used even in severely-ill patients. It can provide information about the location of the obstruction and can differentiate between obstructive pulmonary disease and upper-airway obstruction. Therefore, it is recommended to obtain a flow-volume loop during the assessment of patients with upper airway obstruction.
Kapteijns
E F G
EF
Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht, afd. Longziekten. ekapteijns@alysis.nl
Kwakkel-van Erp
J M
JM
Vos
P J E
PJ
van den Elshout
F J J
FJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000150:complications; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008176:Lung Volume Measurements / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D014826:Vocal Cord Paralysis / Q000150:complications