Chest
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A 63-year-old Japanese woman with no medical history presented as an outside hospital transfer for further management of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Per her family, the patient had developed a rash and intermittent shortness of breath 2 months prior to hospital presentation. The rash was described as an erythematous maculopapular rash located on her proximal arms, chest, and upper eyelids. ⋯ She was subsequently started on 80 mg of IV methylprednisolone three times daily and transferred to our institution for further management. The patient arrived from the outside hospital receiving deep sedation and paralysis. Despite maximal ventilator settings, the patient remained hypoxemic and developed shock requiring multiple vasopressors.
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A 45-year-old man sought treatment at the ED during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with a month-long history of fatigue, cough, myalgia, and hand stiffness. He did not report dyspnea. He had no past medical history and previously was fit and active, working as a farmer. He was a lifelong nonsmoker and had no family history of lung disease.
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Case Reports
A 43-Year-Old Woman With Pleuritic Chest Pain, Shortness of Breath, and Weakness of All Extremities.
A 43-year-old woman with a medical history of hypothyroidism, psoriasis, and tobacco abuse (30-pack year history) who had quit smoking several months prior to presentation presented with pleuritic chest pain. She also noted a 2-year history of progressive numbness and weakness in her bilateral upper and lower extremities that now prevented her from completing her activities of daily living. She had worsening exertional dyspnea and a subjective 50-lb weight loss over the past year.
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A 35-year-old man presented to the ED with a 7-day history of fever, asthenia, and cough. He had previously received a 3-day course of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid (1 g tid po) and then ceftriaxone (1 g IM once per day) prescribed by his general practitioner with no substantial benefit. He was an active smoker (11.2 pack/y), without known allergy-related syndromes and any important reports in his medical history.