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Stridor: differentiation from asthma or upper airway noise
1Department of Medicine, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Ohio.
The American Review of Respiratory Disease
|June 1, 1989
Summary
Stridor in recently extubated patients has a musical sound similar to asthma but is more prominent in the neck and occurs during inspiration, distinguishing it from expiratory asthma sounds.
Area of Science:
- Respiratory Medicine
- Acoustic Analysis
- Critical Care
Background:
- Stridor, a high-pitched sound indicating upper airway narrowing, can occur in recently extubated patients.
- Differentiating stridor from other respiratory sounds like asthma is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the acoustic characteristics of stridor in recently extubated patients with the sounds of asthma.
- To identify key acoustic differences to aid in distinguishing these conditions.
Main Methods:
- Recording neck and chest sounds from recently extubated patients with stridor, asthmatic patients, and non-obstructed extubated patients.
- Analyzing sound signals using frequency spectrum determination via the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) technique.
Main Results:
- Stridor and asthma share similar sound frequencies.
- Stridor sounds are more intense over the neck than the chest, unlike asthma sounds (chest > neck).
- Stridor sounds occur predominantly during inspiration, while asthma sounds are mainly expiratory.
Conclusions:
- The timing (inspiratory vs. expiratory) and location (neck vs. chest prominence) of musical respiratory sounds are key differentiators between stridor and asthma.
- Acoustic analysis can assist in differentiating stridor from asthma in clinical settings, particularly in post-extubation scenarios.