Differential diagnosis

The points for differential diagnosis of asthma attack and other diseases are as follows. Acute heart failure (image analysis, BNP), hyperventilation syndrome (limbs numbness, low PaCO2), vocal cord dysfunction (stridor in the neck, normal SpO2), COPD exacerbation (smoking history, image analysis), pulmonary thromboembolism (contrasting CT, elevated D-dimer), spontaneous pneumothorax (chest pain, image analysis), large airway disease (inspi- ratory stridor, image analysis). Examinations for diagnosis of bronchial asthma in stable phase are respiratory function tests, increased eosinophils in sputum, FeNO, serum periostin and allergological examination (specific IgE, skin test). For differential diagnosis of stabled asthma and other diseases, important points are as follows. COPD(HRCT, DLco), ACOS(HRCT, DLco, increased eosinophils in sputum), chronic heart failure (BNP, ecohcardiogram), large airway disease(image analysis, flow-volume curves).