Not all that wheezes are asthma

Abstract

Wheeze as a respiratory symptom is commonly described in obstructive airway diseases. However, wheeze can occur in many other diseases apart from airway obstruction. Pulmonary embolism presenting as wheeze is not uncommon and clinician treating diseases with wheezing should be aware of the rarer conditions such as pulmonary embolism. Here, we present the case of a wheezing disorder treated as asthma initially and diagnosed with pulmonary embolism on a detailed workup due to poor clinical response.

Keywords

• asthma
• pulmonary embolism
• wheeze