Wheezing can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'needs attention' to 'life-threatening'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose wheezing, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Acute Bronchitis | 90% | Confirm |
Carcinoid Cancer | 18% | Unlikely |
Asthma | 5% | Ruled out |
Do you wheeze? If you are using respiratory medication (e.g. for asthma), tell us if you wheeze when you are not using it.
Possible responses:
→ Don't know→ No, not at all → Only after exercise → Occasionally / slightly → Much of the time / severely |
Patients with Carcinoid Syndrome sometimes have wheezing or asthma-like symptoms, making breathing difficult.