In this post, I link to and excerpt from “Dyspnoea (Chronic)”* From Diagnostic Imaging Pathways. Date reviewed: February 2012.
*Sections: Pathway Home Pathway Diagram Teaching Points
All that follows is from the above outstanding resource.
Teaching Points
- Chronic dyspnoea is defined as dyspnoea lasting more than one month
- Plain chest radiography provides useful information in the majority of cases to justify its routine use
- Indications for CT / HRCT include
- Restrictive lung disease
- Preoperative assessment of patients who are being referred for lung reduction surgery
- Patients who have dyspnoea and reduced single-breath diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide without evidence of airflow obstruction
- Patients with chronic dyspnoea in whom the initial evaluation (clinical assessment, CXR and pulmonary testing) is non diagnostic or non revealing
