March 2020 Pulmonary Case of the Month: Where You Look Is Important

Sunday, March 1, 2020 at 8:00AM
Rick Robbins, M.D. in bronchoscopy, chest x-ray, familial tracheal web, fixed airway obstruction, flow volume loop, larynoscopy, laser bronchoscopy, pulmonary function testing, tracheal web, vocal cord dysfunction

Richard A. Robbins, MD

Anselmo Garcia, MD

Arizona Chest and Sleep Medicine

Phoenix, AZ USA

 

History of Present Illness

A 47-year-old woman was seen for the first time in our clinic. She had approximately a two-year history of gradually increasing shortness of breath to the point where she could only climb one flight of stairs. In addition, she has a history of a cough sometimes productive and sometimes nonproductive. She did hear herself wheeze intermittently.

PMH, SH, and FH

She has a past medical history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). She was a nonsmoker and had no occupational exposure. Her aunt has a history of asthma.

Physical Examination

Her physical examination was normal and her lungs were clear.

Which of the following is appropriate at this time?

1. Reassurance
2. Treat empirically for post-nasal drip
3. Treat empirically with albuterol
4. Treat empirically with omeprazole
5. None of the above

Cite as: Robbins RA, Garcia A. March 2020 pulmonary case of the month: where you look is important. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2020;20(3):76-83. doi: https://doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc013-20 PDF

Article originally appeared on Southwest Journal of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep (https://www.swjpcc.com/).