September 2023 Pulmonary Case of the Month: A Bone to Pick

Friday, September 1, 2023 at 8:00AM
Rick Robbins, M.D. in CT scan, calcified pulmonary nodules, chest x-ray, deep sulcus sign, dendriform pulmonary ossification, multiple pulmonary nodules, pneumothorax, pulmonary function tests, pulmonary ossification, treatment

Lewis J. Wesselius MD

Pulmonary Department

Mayo Clinic Arizona

Scottsdale, AZ USA

History of Present Illness

A 56-year-old man presented acute onset of shortness of breath. He denied cough, fever or other symptoms

Past Medical History, Family History and Social History

• Occasional gout
• No relevant family history
• Never smoked

Medications

• Allopurinol
• Multivitamin

Physical Examination

• Other than tachypnea and mild shortness of breath, no significant abnormalities.

Chest X-ray

An AP chest X-ray was performed (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Admission chest X-ray.

Which abnormality is suggested  by the chest X-ray? (Click on the correct answer to the second of seven pages)

1. Calcified micronodules in the right lung
2. Retained secretions with atelectasis left lung
3. Right pneumothorax
4. 1 and 3
5. None. The chest X-ray is within normal limits.

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