A malignant wheeze

Asthma is a common disorder presenting with nonspecific features, which may mimic other conditions such as tracheal tumors. Tracheal tumors are often misdiagnosed as asthma. We report a case of a 38-year female who was being worked up for persistent wheeze that was initially attributed to acute asthma, only to be later discovered as tracheal tumor. A high index of suspicion for alternative diagnoses must be kept in mind while evaluating a patient who presents with clinical features suggestive of asthma, but fails to respond to standard therapy. The present case report emphasizes the fact that not all wheezes are asthma.