Respiratory symptoms Assessment Questionnaire

Why: to determine if acute or chronic e.g. chronic cough is a cough that has been present and not improving for more than 4 weeks. Acute cough may suggest acute upper respiratory tract infection (e.g. common cold or influenza), viral pneumonia or bacterial pneumonia. A chronic cough is more suggestive of pneumoconiosis (lung disorder caused by inhalation of mineral dusts, organic dusts, fumes and vapors), chronic bronchitis, emphysema, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis, lung cancer or asthma.

Why: e.g. cough, shortness of breath, fever, chest pain.

Why: e.g. paroxysmal with whoops suggest whooping cough; painful cough may suggest left ventricular heart failure; weak cough may suggest lung cancer, bovine (no power to cough) suggests vocal cord paralysis.

Why: e.g. cough at night may suggest asthma, left ventricular failure, postnasal drip, chronic bronchitis, whooping cough; cough on waking may suggest bronchiectasis, chronic bronchitis or gastro-esophageal reflux.

Why: e.g. esophageal diverticulum, tracheo-esophageal fistula.

Why: recurrent lung infections from childhood may suggest cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis; hay fever and eczema makes the chance of asthma more likely; heart attack, high blood pressure and rheumatic heart disease increase the risk of congestive cardiac failure.

Why: many different medications can produce respiratory problems e.g. pulmonary embolism from oral contraceptive pill; fibrotic lung diseases from cytotoxic agents such as methotrexate, cyclophosphamide and bleomycin; bronchospasm from beta-blockers or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications; cough from ACE inhibitor blood pressure medications.

Why: e.g. asthma; cystic fibrosis; emphysema ( alpha 1- antitrypsin deficiency);anyone in the family had tuberculosis or a chronic cough.

Why: number of packets per day and number of years you have smoked. Smoking is a major risk cause of lung cancer, chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Passive smoking exposure is also regarded as a significant risk.

Why: The drinking of large amounts of alcohol in binges can sometimes result in aspiration pneumonia and alcoholics are also prone to develop pneumococcal or Klebsiella pneumonia.

Why: e.g. exposure to dusts in mining industries and factories such as asbestos, coal, silica, iron oxide, tin oxide, cotton, beryllium, titanium oxide, silver, nitrogen dioxide, anhydrides; farmers exposure to bacteria in hay and causing "farmer's lung"; pigeon breeders exposed to protein from bird feathers and excreta causing "bird fancier's lung.

Why: If there is sputum production, describe it? - e.g. copious amounts with offensive smell suggests bronchiectasis; pus-like sputum may suggest pneumonia, abscess, tuberculosis or bronchiectasis; yellow-green thick and sticky may suggest asthma; profuse and watery may suggest lung cancer; red-currant jelly may suggest lung cancer; pink and frothy may suggest left ventricular failure with pulmonary edema.

Why: may suggest chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis, bronchiectasis, lung cancer, lung metastasis, foreign body, left ventricular failure and mitral stenosis.

Why: usually suggests asthma but may also be chronic bronchitis, emphysema, foreign body, lung cancer, congestive heart failure.

Why: more likely to suggest asthma as cause of chronic cough.

Why: In acute cases may suggest congestive heart failure, pulmonary embolism and pneumonia. In chronic cases may suggest emphysema, chronic pulmonary fibrosis, chronic congestive heart failure, tuberculosis and lung cancer.

Why: suggests left ventricular heart failure.

Why: suggests left ventricular failure.

Why: may suggest gastro-esophageal reflux as cause of chronic cough.

Why: may suggest lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis, lung abscess.

Why: may suggest left ventricular heart failure.

Why: may suggest whooping cough, foreign body, cancer of the larynx, cancer of the trachea.

Why: may suggest bacterial or viral pneumonia, tuberculosis, lung abscess, lung cancer or lung infarction. Fever at night may suggest tuberculosis, pneumonia of mesothelioma (tumor of lung lining due to asbestos exposure).

Why: may suggest congestive heart failure.

Why: e.g. fatigue (especially exertional fatigue), increasing shortness of breath on exertion, bilateral ankle swelling that is usually symmetrical and worse in the evenings, with improvement during the night. As the heart failure progresses, swelling ascends to involve the legs, thighs, genitalia and abdomen. May experience paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea (severe shortness of breath which wakes the person from sleep so that they are forced to get up gasping for breath).

Why: e.g. productive cough on most days for at least three months of the year for at least two consecutive years, shortness of breath, wheeze.

Why: e.g. fever, sharp chest pain worse with coughing and breathing, green sputum, shortness of breath. May have blood stained sputum.

Why: e.g. intermittent wheeze, shortness of breath and cough. Cough is often worse at night.

Why: e.g. shortness of breath, cough, tiredness, joint pain, skin symptoms occur in 10% of cases and may include purple or brown plaques or nodules on face, nose, ears and neck in chronic sarcoidosis.