When is asthma not guilty?

Abstract

Asthma is a common childhood condition. Its prevalence in Saudi Arabia is high, increasing, and could exceed 20% at the current trajectory. Asthma is a syndrome with different clinical presentations and phenotypes. Many conditions are often misdiagnosed as asthma because they share the same symptoms, particularly coughing and shortness of breath; physical findings, such as wheezing; radiological findings, such as hyperinflation on chest X-ray; or even responses to asthma therapies, as in some patients with bronchiolitis. When treating the younger age group (>5 years old), there should be a high degree of suspicion of alternative causes when evaluating patients presenting with clinical features suggestive of asthma or patients who do not respond well to asthma therapies. This study will highlight common conditions that may mimic asthma and, as a result of incorrect treatment, unnecessarily expose patients to steroids and other therapies for extended periods. Furthermore, we seek to alert healthcare providers to common symptoms and signs that suggest a cause other than asthma and suggest when to refer the patient to subspecialists.