Differential diagnosis of childhood asthma.

"Asthma," according to the United States National Tuberculosis Association, "is a disease 
characterized by an increased responsiveness of the trachea and bronchi to 
various stimuli, and made manifest by difficulty of breathing due to 
generalized narrowing of the airways. This narrowing is dynamic and changes 
in degree, either spontaneously or because of therapy. The basic defect 
appears to be an altered state of the host." The maxim, 
"All that wheezes is not asthma," justifiably reinforces the importance of 
differential diagnosis; indeed, the characteristic features of asthma may be found 
to some degree in a wide variety of chest conditions or 
general systemic diseases. The purposes of this monograph are to review 
those conditions that may be confused with asthma and to focus 
attention on the specific points of importance in the history, physical 
examination and laboratory test results that might provide clues to the 
final diagnosis. 