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Author: Timothy Montrief, MD MPH
Jackson Memorial Hospital
Case
A 55-year-old man is brought in to the emergency department by ambulance with a chief complaint of shortness of breath with associated fevers, chills, and productive cough over the past three days. On arrival, he is agitated, anxious, and repeatedly takes off his non-rebreather, stating that he is becoming increasingly dyspneic. He has an oxygen saturation (SpO2) of 85%, is tachycardic to 115 beats per minute, tachypneic to 24 respirations per minute, and has a blood pressure of 145/90 mm Hg.
