Functional Respiratory Disorders in Children

Functional respiratory disorders (FRDs) are those characterized by respiratory symptoms without anatomic or organic etiology. Clinicians caring for children encounter these disorders and should be familiar with diagnosis and treatment. FRDs encompass the habit cough syndrome and its variants, vocal cord dysfunction, hyperventilation disorders, functional dyspnea, and sighing syndrome. Failure to identify these disorders results in unnecessary testing and medication. This article reviews the clinical presentation, manifestation, and treatment of respiratory FRDs in children. How health care providers can successfully identify and treat these reversible conditions in the clinical setting is discussed.