COPD and PE: a clinical dilemma

Dyspnea in patients with known chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be a clinical challenge due to the nonspecific nature of atypical presentations. Typical features of fever, productive cough, and wheezing on presentation support COPD exacerbation, while absence of such findings may war...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Vol. 3; no. 2; pp. 277 - 284
Main Authors Moua, Teng, Wood, Kenneth
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New Zealand Dove Medical Press Ltd 2008
Dove Medical Press
Subjects
Diagnostic Imaging - methods
Global Health
Humans
Prevalence
Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive - complications
Pulmonary Embolism - diagnosis
Pulmonary Embolism - epidemiology
Pulmonary Embolism - etiology
Reviews
Risk Factors
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Summary:Dyspnea in patients with known chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be a clinical challenge due to the nonspecific nature of atypical presentations. Typical features of fever, productive cough, and wheezing on presentation support COPD exacerbation, while absence of such findings may warrant further evaluation for underlying etiologies, including pulmonary embolism (PE). It is suspected that one in four patients with atypical COPD exacerbation may have PE as an underlying or concomitant cause of acute dyspnea. This review discusses the clinical presentation of COPD and PE, and presents an overview of the rationale for pursuing work-up for thromboembolic disease in the setting of known obstructive lung diseases.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-3
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ObjectType-Review-1
ISSN:1176-9106
1178-2005
1178-2005
DOI:10.2147/COPD.S1183