Haldar Arup, Dhar Raja, Dey Diptendu, Bhattacharya Amrita, Biswas Beauty, Krishnan Shyam
The Calcutta Medical Research Institute Hospital Kolkata India.
Department of Pulmonology The Calcutta Medical Research Institute Hospital Kolkata India.
Respirol Case Rep. 2025 Aug 31;13(9):e70336. doi: 10.1002/rcr2.70336. eCollection 2025 Sep.
Dysfunctional breathing (DB) is an underdiagnosed condition in young patients presenting with unexplained exertional breathlessness. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) provides valuable diagnostic insights in these challenging cases. We present a case series of five young women (mean age 23.2 years) who underwent comprehensive evaluation including CPET and body plethysmography for persistent exertional dyspnea. All patients demonstrated characteristic CPET findings of oscillatory breathing patterns, preserved ventilatory reserve, elevated VE/VCO slope, and absence of oxygen desaturation. Body plethysmography revealed consistently elevated residual volumes (162%-296% predicted) and RV/TLC ratios (40.39%-50.21%). CPET is crucial for diagnosing DB in young patients with unexplained dyspnea. The consistent plethysmography abnormalities suggest potential underlying airway pathology or maladaptive breathing patterns.
功能失调性呼吸（DB）在表现为不明原因运动性呼吸困难的年轻患者中是一种诊断不足的病症。心肺运动试验（CPET）在这些具有挑战性的病例中提供了有价值的诊断见解。我们呈现了一个包含五名年轻女性（平均年龄23.2岁）的病例系列，她们因持续性运动性呼吸困难接受了包括CPET和体容积描记法在内的全面评估。所有患者均表现出振荡呼吸模式、保留通气储备、升高的VE/VCO斜率以及无氧饱和度下降等CPET特征性表现。体容积描记法显示残气量持续升高（预测值的162%-296%）以及RV/TLC比值升高（40.39%-50.21%）。CPET对于诊断不明原因呼吸困难的年轻患者的DB至关重要。体容积描记法的一致异常提示潜在的气道病理或适应性不良呼吸模式。
