Asthma: symptoms and diagnosis

Extract

• Asthma is an inflammatory disease of the airways, associated with reversible bronchoconstriction.
• Common symptoms of asthma include prolonged cough, mucus production, dyspnoea and wheezing.
• The inflammation increases the sensitivity of the airways to many irritants.
• Auscultation of the lungs, spirometry, bronchodilatation test, peak expiratory flow (PEF) monitoring, chest x-ray, blood eosinophil count and allergy tests are the basic examinations. Other examinations may be performed in uncertain cases or when a more exact classification of the disease is pursued.
• Detecting a reversible bronchoconstriction in even only one examination (spirometry, PEF monitoring, methacholine test, exercise challenge test) is enough to diagnose asthma.

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Airway Obstruction, Allergology, Asthma, Clinical physiology, Cough, Dyspnea, Exercise Test, J45*, J46, Lung Diseases, Obstructive, PEF, PEF variation, Peak Expiratory Flow Rate, Pulmonary diseases, Radiography, Thoracic, Spirometry, bronchodilation test, chest auscultation, end-expiratory wheezing, home monitoring, incipient asthma, obstruction