All Journals from Catherine Strait
A 91-year old female presented to Acute Medical Unit with a 2 week history of shortness of breath and haemoptysis. Her past medical history included osteoporosis, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, cataracts, and a colonic polypectomy. Her medications: Citalopram 10 mg, Co-codamol, Beclomethasone 200 mcg inhaler, Salbutamol MDI inhaler, Omeprazole 20 mg and Alendronic acid. She was an ex-smoker with a 20-pack year history who had stopped smoking 40-years ago. She did not drink alcohol and lived alone independently.
The Chest X-Ray (Figure 1) shows right unilateral pulmonary oedema with small bilateral pleural effusions. Unilateral pulmonary oedema can easily be mistaken for other pathologies such as pneumonia or pulmonary haemorrhage or even malignancy.