Abstract
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.
| Translated title of the contribution | Dyspnoea caused by upper-airway obstruction: Simple diagnosis by establishing a flow-volume loop |
|---|---|
| Original language | Dutch |
| Pages (from-to) | 993-998 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde |
| Volume | 150 |
| Issue number | 18 |
| Publication status | Published - 6 May 2006 |