What Is Reactive Airway Disease?

Reactive airway disease is a general term used by physicians to describe an event in which the respiratory system overreacts to a bronchial irritant, triggering wheezing and shortness of breath. Rather than being a disease in itself, reactive airway disease is a respiratory event placeholder and classifier used before an official diagnosis has been made. For example, it is often used in cases where asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and bronchial infections are suspected but not yet officially diagnosed. Among clinicians, the term has stirred controversy. Some doctors feel the use of this particular terminology is both outdated and imprecise; others who work in pediatrics and emergency medicine feel the term may be useful in these medical specialties. For emergency room doctors, reactive airway disease is understood as a shorthand for a range of symptoms the patient could have, and this shorthand allows staff to prepare the necessary treatment equipment in advance of a patient's arrival by ambulance.