A 75-year-old man presents to the Emergency Department with complaints of difficulty breathing. Upon examination, you observe that his trachea is centralized and there is decreased chest expansion on the left side, accompanied by a dull percussion note and diminished breath sounds. What is the diagnosis?
A 50-year-old woman has a small cell lung cancer. Her serum sodium level is 128 mmol/l on routine testing (136–145 mmol/l).
What is the single most likely cause for the biochemical abnormality?
A 45-year-old woman with known asthma presents to the Emergency Department with severe breathlessness and wheeze.
Which of the following is the most concerning finding on examination and initial investigations?
A 35-year-old woman with a history of asthma and eczema visits her General Practitioner and inquires about the reason for her continued wheezing hours after being exposed to pollen. She has a known allergy to tree pollen.
What is the most suitable explanation for this?
A 62-year-old teacher visits her GP as she has noticed that she is becoming increasingly breathless whilst walking. She has always enjoyed walking and usually walks 5 times a week. Over the past year she has noted that she can no longer manage the same distance that she has been accustomed to without getting breathless and needing to stop. She wonders if this is a normal part of ageing or if there could be an underlying medical problem.
Which of the following are consistent with normal ageing with respect to the respiratory system?
A 70-year-old man with a medical history of hyperlipidaemia and hypertension arrives at the Emergency Department complaining of cough and difficulty breathing that has been getting worse over the past 24 hours. Upon examination, he is not running a fever, has a blood pressure of 100/60 mmHg, a heart rate of 110 bpm, and an oxygen saturation level of 95% on room air. During chest auscultation, the patient displays fine crackles in both lung bases. Additionally, a new audible systolic murmur is detected at the apex.
What is the most likely cause of the patient’s pulmonary symptoms?
A 50-year-old woman is admitted to hospital with fever, dyspnoea and consolidation at the left lower base. She is commenced on antibiotics. A few days later, she deteriorates and a chest X-ray reveals a large pleural effusion, with consolidation on the left side.
What is the most important investigation to perform next?
A 68-year-old retired caretaker with a well-documented history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is admitted, for his fourth time this year, with shortness of breath and a cough productive of green sputum. Examination findings are: respiratory rate (RR) 32 breaths/min, temperature 37.4 °C, SpO2 86% on room air, asterixis and coarse crepitations at the left base. A chest X-ray (CXR) confirms left basal consolidation.
Which arterial blood gas (ABG) picture is likely to belong to the above patient?
A 25-year-old man has suffered a left-sided pneumothorax. A chest drain has been inserted through the left fifth intercostal space at the mid-axillary line.
As well as the intercostal muscles, which other muscle is likely to have been pierced?
A 14-year-old male is brought in with acute severe asthma. During examination, it is noted that his peripheral pulse volume decreases during inspiration. What is the most probable reason for this clinical finding?