Diagnosis in suspected respiratory disease

When there is suspicion of respiratory pathology, the clinician’s role is to obtain a diagnosis accurately and, where possible, swiftly while subjecting the patient to the minimum of anxiety and invasive or potentially harmful tests. It is not only in rapidly progressive disease and malignancy where speed is of the essence. Potentially reversible airways disease often becomes irreversible once established and conditions that erode into lung reserve lead to increasing levels of disability if unchecked. Furthermore, in the case of respiratory-borne infections, there may be a public health risk.