Cor Pulmonale: Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Respiratory System (J00-J99)

  • Bronchial asthma
  • Bronchiectasis (synonym: bronchiectasis) – persistent irreversible saccular or cylindrical dilatation of the bronchi (medium-sized airways) that 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
  • Chronic bronchitis
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosisconnective tissue remodeling of the lungs leading to functional impairment.
  • Pulmonary emphysema (irreversible hyperinflation of the smallest air-filled structures (alveoli, alveoli) of the lungs).
  • Pleural nipples (thickening of the pleura (pleura), which can lead to a limitation of lung capacity)
  • Pneumoconiosis (pneumoconiosis)
  • Sarcoidosis – inflammatory systemic disease affecting mainly the lungs, lymph nodes and skin.
  • Tracheal stenosis (narrowing of the trachea).
  • Tuberculosis (consumption)

Blood, blood-forming organs – immune system (D50-D90).

  • Anemia (anemia)
  • Autoimmune disease with vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels), unspecified

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

  • Obesity (adiposity) – leads to chronic hypoventilation (restricted lung ventilation) and thus to chronic cor pulmonale
  • Pickwick syndrome – syndrome with obesity (obesity), unclear sleep conditions, pulmonary hypertension, etc.
  • Cystic Fibrosis (ZF) – genetic disease with autosomal recessive inheritance, characterized by the production of secretions in various organs to be tamed.

Cardiovascular system (I00-I99).

  • Valvular heart disease (vitiation), unspecified.
  • Cardiomyopathyheart muscle disease leading to impaired cardiac function.
  • Coronary artery disease (CAD) – disease of the coronary arteries.
  • Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
  • Pericarditis constrictiva – chronic pericarditis with shrinkage of the pericardium and consequent limitation of cardiac function.
  • Primary pulmonary hypertension – pulmonary hypertension without apparent cause.
  • Endangiitis obliterans – segmental vasculitis (vascular inflammation) of small and medium-sized arteries and veins predominantly of the lower extremity.
  • Periarteritis nodosa – necrotizing vasculitis (vascular inflammation), which usually affects medium-sized vessels.
  • Pulmonary hypertensionhigh blood pressure due to pulmonary (vascular) disease.
  • Veno-occlusive disease, unspecified
  • Condition following multiple pulmonary artery embolism – occlusion of one or more pulmonary vessels by a thrombus (blood clot), usually due to venous thrombosis

Liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts – pancreas (pancreas) (K70-K77; K80-K87).

  • Cystic pancreatic fibrosis – connective tissue remodeling of the pancreas secondary to pulmonary afflictions.

Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99).

  • Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), formerly Wegener’s granulomatosis – necrotizing (tissue dying) vasculitis (vascular inflammation) of the small to medium-sized vessels (small-vessel vasculitides), which is associated with granuloma formation (nodule formation) in the upper respiratory tract (nose, sinuses, middle ear, oropharynx) as well as the lower respiratory tract (lungs)
  • Kyphoscoliosis – simultaneous occurrence of a sideways shift with a backward curvature of the spine; can lead to chronic cor pulmonale via chronic hypoventilation (impaired lung ventilation)
  • Bechterew’s disease – chronic inflammatory disease of the spine, which can lead to joint stiffness (ankylosis) of the affected joints.
  • Scleroderma – group of autoimmune connective tissue diseases, which belongs to the collagenoses.
  • Vascular collagen diseases, unspecified – cause occlusion of the pulmonary vascular bed.

Neoplasms – tumor diseases (C00-D48).

  • Bronchus adenoma – benign neoplasm on one bronchus.
  • Bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer)
  • Lymphangiosis carcinomatosa – spread of a malignant tumor in the lymphatic vessels.
  • Tumors of the mediastinum (mediastinal cavity).
  • Tumors of the trachea – neoplasm of the trachea.

Psyche – nerve system (F00-F99; G00-G99).

  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; synonyms: Myatrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Motor Neuron Disease and Lou Gehrig’s Syndrome) – degenerative disease of the motor nervous system; progressive and irreversible damage or degeneration of nerve cells (neurons) occurs. The degeneration leads to increasing muscle weakness (paresis/paralysis), which is accompanied by muscle wasting (amyotrophy).
  • Muscular dystrophy (muscle weakness), unspecified.
  • Myasthenia – pathological muscle fatigability.
  • Neuromuscular diseases – lead to chronic hypoventilation and thus chronic cor pulmonale.

Further

  • Condition after lung (partial) resection (lung (partial) removal).
  • Dysfunction of the thoracic wall – leads to chronic cor pulmonale via chronic hypoventilation.