[COPD exacerbation or something else? Clinical case]

The authors present the case of a 45 -year -old female patient with Down syndrome, and known past medical history of COPD with multiple hospital admissions in the context of exacerbation of his lung disease. The facts refer to his latest hospitalization, whose motive, prior interpreted as a further exacerbation episode, after careful clinical reassessment and use of appropriate additional means of diagnosis, appeared to be due to an unusual cause. By presenting this case, the authors call the attention to the difficulty presented by particular situations, as well as to the risks of uncritical acceptance of common diagnoses.