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Bronchial Asthma pp 171–187Cite as

Differential Diagnosis of Asthma in Adults Asthma, Occult Asthma, and Pseudoasthma

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Abstract

The clinical features most suggestive of asthma are recurrent episodes of wheezing, cough, and dyspnea. Wheezing is caused by the partial obstruction (narrowing) of one or more airways in association with airflow of sufficient velocity to generate the wheeze (1,2). Although wheezing is the most characteristic clinical manifestation of asthma, it is not always detectable in the asthmatic patient. It is often absent when the asthmatic process is in remission, and it is occasionally absent in the most severe attacks, presumably because the patient is unable to generate sufficient airflow velocity to produce the wheeze. Conversely, wheezing may be a prominent manifestation of a number of non-asthmatic forms of diffuse or localized airway obstruction. It is clear that asthma cannot be diagnosed solely upon the presence of wheezing, and it cannot be ruled out by the absence of wheezing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California School of Medicine, Davis, CA, USA

    Glen A. Lillington & Hsiu-wei Lin

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  1. Glen A. Lillington
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  2. Hsiu-wei Lin
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of California School of Medicine, Davis, CA, USA

    M. Eric Gershwin  & Georges M. Halpern  & 

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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Lillington, G.A., Lin, Hw. (1994). Differential Diagnosis of Asthma in Adults Asthma, Occult Asthma, and Pseudoasthma. In: Gershwin, M.E., Halpern, G.M. (eds) Bronchial Asthma. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0297-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0297-4_8

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-6697-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-0297-4

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