Take a Deep Breath - Time to Plunge into Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction

Inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO)/vocal cord dysfunction is frequently encountered in the specialist asthma clinic, where it is often misdiagnosed as asthma or is coexistent with asthma. It causes recurrent distressing episodes of acute dyspnea that can lead to hospital admissions, endotracheal intubation, and fruitless asthma treatment escalation, often including oral glucocorticoids.^1-4 Early diagnosis and treatment of ILO offers the prospect of connecting patients with an effective speech- and language-based intervention earlier and avoiding these unnecessary and potentially harmful interventions.