Photo Rounds

Teenager with shortness of breath and hypoxia

Author and Disclosure Information

In addition to the signs and symptoms that brought this teen to our ED, there was one important detail that he failed to initially mention.


 

References

A 19-year-old male complaining of shortness of breath was transferred from our facility’s urgent care unit to our emergency department. He had a 2-week history of hemoptysis and vomiting, and over the previous week, he had developed mild hematemesis. His other symptoms included left thigh, flank, and upper quadrant pain; left chest pain exacerbated by exertion, light-headedness, and palpitations. He said that over the past 8 months, he’d been tired and lost some weight.

His blood pressure was 138/77 mm Hg, pulse was 142 beats per min, respiratory rate was 22 breaths per min, and oxygen saturation was 93% on room air. The physical exam revealed normal breath sounds and a diffusely tender abdomen. We ordered a chest X-ray (FIGURE).

WHAT IS YOUR DIAGNOSIS?
HOW WOULD YOU TREAT THIS PATIENT?

Pages

Recommended Reading

Childhood cancer survivors: Less frequent heart screening may be more cost effective
MDedge Family Medicine
Registry data: No increase in prostate cancer risk with long-term TRT
MDedge Family Medicine
Midlife PSA measure predicted lethal prostate cancer
MDedge Family Medicine
Pancreatic cancer predicted to become second-leading cause of U.S. cancer deaths by 2030
MDedge Family Medicine
Clinical data support earlier PSA testing in black men
MDedge Family Medicine
Watch for the skin side effects of novel melanoma therapies
MDedge Family Medicine
Breast cancer fear contributes to prophylactic mastectomy rate
MDedge Family Medicine
4Kscore test may reduce unnecessary prostate biopsies
MDedge Family Medicine
Liver cancer without cirrhosis surprisingly common: Is NAFLD the cause?
MDedge Family Medicine
VIDEO: Goserelin helps dodge ovarian failure in HR-negative breast cancer
MDedge Family Medicine