PMID: 9551760Apr 29, 1998Paper

Functional upper airway obstruction and chronic irritation of the larynx

The European Respiratory Journal
T B Rothe, W Karrer

Abstract

Wheezing and dyspnoea are typical symptoms of asthma but can also be found in diseases of the extrathoracic airways. Functional upper airway obstruction may imitate, as well as complicate asthma. Functional upper airway obstruction was first described as a conversion disorder in young females with inspiratory stridor. Subsequently, it was found that functional upper airway obstruction was more often a secondary phenomenon in chronic asthma also involving the expiratory laryngeal airflow. During a period of 15 months, we diagnosed six cases of functional upper airway obstruction. Five patients were female and one male, and four were also asthmatics. Three cases showed chronic sinusitis with postnasal drip (PND) and/or gastro-oesophageal reflux. Both disorders may irritate the larynx. Treatment of sinusitis and gastro-oesophageal reflux led to a significant improvement of dyspnoea in all three of these patients. In asthma refractory to treatment and in the case of an asthmatic exacerbation without obvious cause, functional upper airway obstruction should be excluded to avoid unnecessary treatment with systemic steroids. Some of the possible causative factors of functional upper airway obstruction, such as postnasal drip and gastr...Continue Reading

Citations

Jun 30, 2004·Paediatric Respiratory Reviews·Jürg Hammer
Apr 3, 2003·Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology : Official Publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology·Catherine L HaggertyGrant W Waterer
Aug 27, 2002·Environmental Health Perspectives·Dennis Shusterman
Dec 17, 2015·Allergology International : Official Journal of the Japanese Society of Allergology·Lucia Helena Eduardo PintoPedro Giavina-Bianchi
Nov 9, 2005·Journal of Voice : Official Journal of the Voice Foundation·Anne E VertiganAlison L Winkworth
Feb 18, 2006·Minerva gastroenterologica e dietologica·A J P M Smout
Nov 19, 2003·European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology·John N Groen, André J Smout
Nov 6, 2010·Chest·Michael J Morris, Kent L Christopher

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