PEM Pearls

All that wheezes is not asthma

Wheeze is a common presentation in paediatrics. Whilst it is most frequently seen in patients presenting with bronchiolitis, viral induced wheeze or asthma, there are other causes of wheeze that we should consider in our differential when these patients present.

Wheeze can also be caused by:

• Upper airway obstruction
• Bronchiectasis
• Bronchitis or Pneumonia
• Tuberculosis
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Congestive Cardiac Failure
• Foreign body inhalation (Often presents with unilateral wheeze)

This paper discusses an interesting case of a wheezing child who, whilst initially salbutamol responsive was ultimately found to have a foreign body inhalation.

Melissa Plumb