Differential Diagnosis of Asthma and COPD
Of these potential differential diagnoses, asthma is the most difficult to determine. As we have learned, COPD and asthma are 2 distinct clinical conditions, yet there are significant overlaps in signs and symptoms between the 2 diseases. Characteristics of asthma include:
- episodic attacks involving specific, rather than chronic, symptoms
- some pattern in the attacks related to climate changes, emotional changes, season, or exercise
- nonproductive cough during the attack but coughing up mucus plugs after the attack
- wheezing during expiration
- use of accessory muscles when breathing
- hyperinflation of the chest
In diagnosing COPD, medical history generally reveals a strong history of smoking. In contrast, among patients with asthma, the clinician looks for signs of an atopic disorder, such as a personal or family history of allergies and specific triggers of the attacks. The major risk factors related to asthma are parental (the child of an asthmatic mother has a 7-fold increase in risk of developing asthma) and atopy (responsible for a
AsthmaAsthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that obstructs the airways, but it is important (and often difficult) to distinguish it from COPD. In some patients (about 15% in most studies), the conditions occur simultaneously. |
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