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| Image Credit: Flickr |
Author: Alexandria Gregory, MS3
Saint Louis
University School of Medicine
AAEM/RSA Social
Media Committee
Author: Eric Goedecke, DO
Milford Regional
Medical Center
Overview
An 80-year-old female with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), high cholesterol, and hypertension presented to the emergency department (ED) with a two-day history of shortness of breath. She also reported mild left-sided chest pain, but had no cough, fever, or calf pain. She had no history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE), though she recently traveled from Massachusetts to Florida via airplane, and returned on the day her symptoms began. The patient had quit smoking over ten years prior to her presentation in the ED. She had been using her inhalers, prescribed for COPD, frequently with minimal improvement.
