Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Congenital malformations, deformities, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99).

  • Congenital malformations of the lungs, unspecified.

Respiratory system (J00-J99)

  • Bronchial asthma; see “Symptoms – Complaints” under “Differentiation of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease” for details.
  • Bronchiectasis (synonym: bronchiectasis) – permanently existing irreversible saccular or cylindrical dilatation of the bronchi (medium-sized airways), which may be congenital or acquired; symptoms: chronic cough with “mouthful expectoration” (large-volume triple-layered sputum: foam, mucus, and pus), fatigue, weight loss, and decreased exercise capacity
  • Bronchiolitis obliterans – inflammation of the bronchioles and consequent narrowing of them by granulation tissue, leading to expiratory flow obstruction.
  • Pneumonia (pneumonia)
  • Pneumothorax – collapse of the lungs due to air in the pleural space (space between the ribs and lung pleura, where physiologically there is negative pressure).
  • Silicosis (silica pneumothorax) – due to inhalation of fine dust containing α-quartz or other crystalline modification of silica, which leads to pulmonary fibrosis
  • Tension pneumothorax – collapse of the lungs with increasing displacement of the organs of the chest, which can lead to cardiovascular arrest
  • Vocal cord dysfunction (Engl. Vocal Cord Dysfunction, VCD) – leading symptom of VCD: Abrupt onset of respiratory distress-inducing laryngeal obstruction (laryngeal constriction usually experienced in the cervical or upper tracheal region), usually during inspiration (inhalation), which can lead to respiratory distress of varying intensity, inspiratory stridor (breath sounds on inhalation), no bronchial hyperresponsiveness (airway hypersensitivity in which the bronchi constrict abruptly), normal lung function; cause: Paradoxical intermittent glottis closure; especially in younger women.

Endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic disorders (E00-E90).

  • Obesity (overweight)
  • Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD; α1-antitrypsin deficiency; synonyms: Laurell-Eriksson syndrome, protease inhibitor deficiency, AAT deficiency) – relatively common genetic disorder with autosomal recessive inheritance in which too little alpha-1-antitrypsin is produced due to a polymorphism (occurrence of multiple gene variants). A deficiency of protease inhibitors is manifested by a lack of inhibition of elastase, which causes the elastin of the pulmonary alveoli to degrade. As a result, chronic obstructive bronchitis with emphysema (COPD, progressive airway obstruction that is not fully reversible) occurs. In the liver, the lack of protease inhibitors leads to chronic hepatitis (liver inflammation) with transition to liver cirrhosis (non-reversible damage to the liver with pronounced remodeling of the liver tissue). The prevalence (disease frequency) of homozygous alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is estimated at 0.01-0.02 percent in the European population.
  • Cystic fibrosis (ZF) – genetic disease with autosomal recessive inheritance characterized by the production of secretions in various organs that need to be tamed.

Cardiovascular system (I00-I99).

  • Asthma cardiale – disease resulting in shortness of breath due to heart failure (cardiac insufficiency); symptoms: pulmonary edema (accumulation of fluid in lung tissue or alveoli) with moist rales, frothy sputum (sputum)
  • Heart failure (cardiac insufficiency), chronic.
  • Pulmonary embolism – obstruction of pulmonary vessels by a blood clot; in the history (medical history), if necessary, a deep vein thrombosis (TBVT); symptoms: usually no expiratory (“when breathing out”) wheezing; often fever.

Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

Mouth, esophagus (esophagus), stomach, and intestines (K00-K67; K90-K93).

  • Gastroesophageal reflux disease (synonyms: GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease; gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD); gastroesophageal reflux disease (reflux disease); gastroesophageal reflux; reflux esophagitis; reflux disease; Reflux esophagitis; peptic esophagitis) – inflammatory disease of the esophagus (esophagitis) caused by the pathological reflux (reflux) of acid gastric juice and other gastric contents.

Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99).

  • Scoliosis (lateral curvature of the spine), severe.

Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).

  • Tumors of the trachea (windpipe).
  • Tumors of the larynx (larynx)
  • Tumors of the lung such as bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer).

Psyche – nervous system (F00-F99; G00-G99)

Injuries, poisonings and other consequences of external causes (S00-T98).