Posted on: September 12, 2007
Asthma Often Misdiagnosed
By CTW Features
Image courtesy iStock Photo
Doctors may be mistaking the wheezing associated with asthma for another condition called vocal cord dysfunction (VCD), according to researchers at Columbus Children’s Hospital. Asthma medications won’t alleviate a VCD attack.
“Our study suggests that if more emergency departments made use of the spirometry test, it could cut down on the number of kids who are misdiagnosed and potentially hospitalized,” says Muffy Chrysler, an asthma coordinator at the Columbus, Ohio-based hospital.
In a year-long study of patients ages 12 to 21, researchers used a device that measure airflow that proved effective in identifying VCD patterns. Twelve of 17 patients who reported to the emergency room with breathing problems showed vocal cord dysfunction symptoms, which led to a change in therapy.
“While [asthma and VCD] appear similar to parents, the conditions act differently and must be treated differently,” says Dr. Karen McCoy, pulmonology chief at Columbus Children’s Hospital. “It is important that parents, coaches and family doctors are aware of the differences.”
