Editing Asthma (section)

===Differential diagnosis===
Many other conditions can cause symptoms similar to those of asthma.<!-- <ref name=NAEPP46/> --> In children, symptoms may be due to other upper airway diseases such as [[allergic rhinitis]] and [[sinusitis]], as well as other causes of airway obstruction including [[foreign body aspiration]], [[tracheal stenosis]], [[laryngotracheomalacia]], [[vascular ring]]s, enlarged [[lymph nodes]] or neck masses.<ref name=NAEPP46/> [[Bronchiolitis]] and other viral infections may also produce wheezing.<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Lichtenstein R |title=Pediatric emergencies|date=2013|publisher=Elsevier|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-0-323-22733-9|pages = 1022|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_oxAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908184941/https://books.google.com/books?id=H_oxAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1022|archive-date=September 8, 2017}}</ref> According to [[European Respiratory Society]], it may not be suitable to label wheezing preschool children with the term ''asthma'' because there is lack of clinical data on inflammation in airways.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Van Bever HP, Han E, Shek L, Yi Chng S, Goh D | title = An approach to preschool wheezing: to label as asthma? | journal = The World Allergy Organization Journal | volume = 3 | issue = 11 | pages = 253–257 | date = November 2010 | pmid = 23282943 | pmc = 3651058 | doi = 10.1097/WOX.0b013e3181fc7fa1 }}</ref> In adults, [[COPD]], [[congestive heart failure]], airway masses, as well as drug-induced coughing due to [[ACE inhibitor]]s may cause similar symptoms.<!-- <ref name=NAEPP46> --> In both populations [[vocal cord dysfunction]] may present similarly.<ref name=NAEPP46>{{harvnb|NHLBI Guideline|2007|p=46}}</ref>

[[Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]] can coexist with asthma and can occur as a complication of chronic asthma. After the age of 65, most people with obstructive airway disease will have asthma and COPD. In this setting, COPD can be differentiated by increased airway neutrophils, abnormally increased wall thickness, and increased smooth muscle in the bronchi. However, this level of investigation is not performed due to COPD and asthma sharing similar principles of management: corticosteroids, long-acting beta-agonists, and smoking cessation.<ref name=Gibson>{{cite journal | vauthors = Gibson PG, McDonald VM, Marks GB | s2cid = 12275555 | title = Asthma in older adults | journal = Lancet | volume = 376 | issue = 9743 | pages = 803–13 | date = September 2010 | pmid = 20816547 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61087-2 }}</ref> It closely resembles asthma in symptoms, is correlated with more exposure to cigarette smoke, an older age, less symptom reversibility after bronchodilator administration, and decreased likelihood of family history of atopy.<ref name="pmid16880365">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hargreave FE, Parameswaran K | title = Asthma, COPD and bronchitis are just components of airway disease | journal = The European Respiratory Journal | volume = 28 | issue = 2 | pages = 264–7 | date = August 2006 | pmid = 16880365 | doi = 10.1183/09031936.06.00056106 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Applied Therapeutics 2009">{{cite book| vauthors = Diaz PK |title=Applied therapeutics: the clinical use of drugs |edition=9th |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |date=2009 |chapter=23. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease }}</ref>