Summary

Dyspnea is defined as the subjective sensation of suffocation or lack of air and is a very frequent reason for consultation. Its clinical presentation can vary, from mild manifestations to catastrophic respiratory failure, with high mortality and requiring complex invasive therapies.
In the emergency services, the etiological study of the acute patient begins, at the same time that therapeutic interventions are carried out aimed at the stabilization and time-dependent management of the patient who consults for dyspnea.
In view of the multiple causes of dyspnea, it is necessary for the specialist in emergency medicine to know the different differential diagnoses and know how to guide its management and study.
This manuscript aims to provide a theoretical framework about the presentation of the patient with dyspnea in the emergency department, describe its main characteristics and guide the study and time-dependent treatments from its first evaluation by the medical team.
A clinical case is exposed and the essential components of the pathophysiology that explains dyspnea are reviewed, as well as the description of tools for its evaluation, treatment and disposal in the emergency service. We will finish with the resolution of the case.