Links To And Excerpts From “Dyspnea (Chronic)” From Diagnostic Imaging Pathways

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

 

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