Year: 2008
Type: review
Abstract: Dyspnea in patients with known chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be a clinical challenge due to the nonspecific nature of atypical presentations. Typical features of fever, productive cough, and wheezing on presentation support COPD exacerbation, while absence of such findings may warrant further evaluation for underlying etiologies, including pulmonary embolism (PE). It is suspected that one in four patients with atypical COPD exacerbation may have PE as an underlying or concomitant cause of acute dyspnea. This review discusses the clinical presentation of COPD and PE, and presents an overview of the rationale for pursuing work-up for thromboembolic disease in the setting of known obstructive lung diseases.
Source: International Journal of COPD
DOI: 10.2147/copd.s1183
Author: Ken Wood
Language: English
Subfield: Internal Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,836
OpenAlex ID: W1689405614