Late presentation of double aortic arch in school-age children presumed to have asthma: the benefits of spirometry and examination of the flow-volume curve.

Children with double aortic arch most often present in infancy. This report presents 3 patients in whom the diagnosis of double aortic arch was not revealed until later in childhood. They were all given a misdiagnosis of asthma, but abnormalities detected on the flow-volume curve led to the true diagnosis.