Two cases of bronchial asthma diagnosed as hyperventilation syndrome
Hiroko Kashiwagi1) Yoshitaka Morimatsu1) Hirotsugu Kourogi2) Morihiro Tajiri1) Hisamichi Aizawa3)
1)Respiratory Center, National Hospital Organization Kumamoto Medical Center 2)Department of Respiratory Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kumamoto University 3)Department of Medicine, Division of Respirology, Neurology, and Rheumatology, Kurume University School of Medicine
We report two cases of bronchial asthma masked by hyperventilation syndrome. Case 1 was a 43-year-old woman. She had repeatedly visited the emergency room complaining of dyspnea and had been given a diagnosis of hyperventilation syndrome for 8 years. Initially, her symptom was only coughing, however, dyspnea gradually appeared. We suspected her symptoms were caused by bronchial asthma on the basis of her wheezes, and we established a diagnosis based on the results of the airway reversible test. Case 2 was a 24-year-old woman. She also had repeatedly visited the emergency room, supposedly because of hyperventilation syndrome over the long term. The airway reversible test revealed that she had features of asthma. After treatment for bronchial asthma, the asthma attacks subsided. After that, neither patient made any emergency visits. We should auscultate the respiratory sounds of patients with hyperventilation syndrome carefully. Additionally, we may as well apply the spirometries and the airway reversible test during a period of stability to a patient who has repeated hyperventilation attacks.
Bronchial asthma Hyperventilation syndrome Panic disorder Spirometry The airway reversible test
Received 平成19年8月9日
JJRS, 46(5): 374-378, 2008