André Isaac, MD, MSC, FRCSC
Stollery Children’s Hospital, University of Alberta; Edmonton, AB
Session Description
Dyspnea is a common complaint in the pediatric population and a challenging one to work-up and treat. Whereas exercise-induced dyspnea is often attributed to asthma, there are a host of other diagnoses that can imitate and co-exist with asthma. Inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO) has increased in prevalence, which is likely due in part to increased awareness and a wider range of available diagnostic tools. Other related diagnoses including allergic laryngitis, exercised-induced laryngomalacia and laryngopharyngeal reflux can also cloud the picture. The purpose of this session is to present a diagnostic and therapeutic approach to non-asthma related dyspnea in the pediatric population with a focus on ILO and a sweeping review of the most up to date evidence on this topic.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this presentation, attendees will be able to:
- Formulate an appropriately wide differential diagnosis for the pediatric patient presenting with dyspnea
- Evaluate a patient for inducible laryngeal obstruction including a multidisciplinary approach and appropriate referrals
- Compare and contrast various causes of exercised and non-exercise induced dyspnea in the pediatric population
CanMEDS Roles: Collaborator, Communicator, Medical Expert
