Differential diagnosis of dyspnea

Many different conditions can lead to the feeling of dyspnea (shortness of breath). DiagnosisPro, an online medical expert system, listed 497 in October 2010.^[1] The most common cardiovascular causes are acute myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure while common pulmonary causes include: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, pneumothorax, and pneumonia.^[2]

Pulmonary

• Obstructive lung diseases
  • Asthma
  • Bronchitis
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Emphysema
  • Hookworm disease
• Diseases of lung parenchyma and pleura
  • Contagious
    • Anthrax through inhalation of Bacillus anthracis
    • Pneumonia
  • Non-contagious
    • Fibrosing alveolitis
    • Atelectasis
    • Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
    • Interstitial lung disease
    • Lung cancer
    • Pleural effusion
    • Pneumoconiosis
    • Pneumothorax
    • Non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema or acute respiratory distress syndrome
    • Sarcoidosis
• Pulmonary vascular diseases
  • Acute or recurrent pulmonary emboli
  • Pulmonary hypertension, primary or secondary
  • Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease
  • Superior vena cava syndrome

Other causes

• Obstruction of the airway
  • Cancer of the larynx or pharynx
  • Empty nose syndrome
  • Pulmonary aspiration
  • Epiglottitis
  • Laryngeal edema
  • Vocal cord dysfunction
• Immobilization of the diaphragm
  • Lesion of the phrenic nerve
  • Polycystic liver disease
  • Tumor in the diaphragm
• Restriction of the chest volume
  • Ankylosing spondylitis
  • Broken ribs
  • Kyphosis of the spine
  • Obesity
  • Pectus excavatum
  • Scoliosis
• Disorders of the cardiovascular system
  • Aortic dissection
  • Cardiomyopathy
  • Congenital heart disease
  • CREST syndrome
  • Heart failure
  • Ischaemic heart disease
  • Malignant hypertension
  • Pericardium disorders, including:
    • Cardiac tamponade
    • Constrictive pericarditis
    • Pericardial effusion
  • Pulmonary edema
  • Pulmonary embolism
  • Pulmonary hypertension
  • Valvular heart disease
• Disorders of the blood and metabolism
  • Anemia
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Adrenal insufficiency
  • Metabolic acidosis
  • Sepsis
  • Leukemia
  • Holocarboxylase synthetase deficiency^[3]
• Disorders affecting breathing nerves and muscles
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
  • Guillain-Barré syndrome
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Myasthenia gravis
  • Parsonage Turner syndrome
  • Eaton-Lambert syndrome
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Psychological conditions
  • Anxiety disorders and panic attacks
• Medications
  • Fentanyl
• Other
  • Carbon monoxide poisoning
  • Pregnancy^[4]

References

1. ^ http://en.diagnosispro.com/differential_diagnosis-for/poisoning-specific-agent-dyspnea/25103-154-100.html
2. ^ Shiber JR, Santana J (May 2006). "Dyspnea". Med. Clin. North Am. 90 (3): 453–79. doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2005.11.006. PMID 16473100. 
3. ^ . PMID 10770035. 
4. ^ Simpson, Kathleen Rice; Patricia A Creehan (2007). Perinatal Nursing (3rd ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 66. ISBN 9780781767590. http://books.google.com/?id=oz_4cTmVFD4C&pg=PA66.