Hale ZE, et al. - Researchers aimed at establishing an evidence-based differential diagnosis for dyspnea. They also determined if normal vital signs can rule out a life-threatening diagnosis. Data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2005 to 2014 was analyzed for Emergency Department (ED) visits with a chief complaint of dyspnea and the principal discharge diagnosis was tallied. The high utilization of intensive care units (ICUs) for patients with dyspnea signifies the importance of an accurate differential. In patients aged 18 to 44, acute asthma exacerbation (14.8%) was the most common diagnosis. Obstructive chronic bronchitis was noted to be the most common specified diagnosis in both patients ages 45 to 64 (11.1%) and patients ages 65 to 79 (12.4%), while for patients ages 80 and over (15.9%), congestive heart failure was the most common. In the 44.6% of visits, respiratory vital signs were frequently normal that led to a potentially life-threatening diagnosis but corresponded to increased ICU utilization when abnormal.