TY - JOUR T1 - A young female with fatigue and dyspnoea JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 958 LP - 960 DO - 10.1183/09031936.04.00109204 VL - 23 IS - 6 AU - B. Tobler AU - D. Schneiter AU - A.B. Barghorn AU - C. Steurer-Stey Y1 - 2004/06/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/23/6/958.abstract N2 - A 25‐yr‐old female was admitted to hospital due to fatigue and dyspnoea for a duration of 3 months. Difficulty in breathing occurred during physical activity and in stressful situations, but also sometimes during bed rest, and was associated with the feeling of palpitations. The patient smoked 30 cigarettes·day−1 (total 8 pack-yrs) and took no medication. The patient's personal and family history was uneventful. There was no recent history of travelling. She worked as a clerk and noticed no change in symptoms at work or over the weekends. The patient was overweight (body mass index 31.5 kg·m−2) and had a normal body temperature on clinical examination. Her blood pressure was 120/80 mmHg, heart rate 76 beats·min−1 and respiratory rate 20 breaths·min−1. No crackles were heard during auscultation. The blood tests showed no abnormalities, specifically no anaemia nor inflammatory signs. A chest radiograph and ECG were performed, and showed normal results. Pulmonary function tests demonstrated normal … ER -