A 50-year-old African female presented to the emergency department with a swollen right hand and a complaint of severe shortness of breath. She was unable to walk. She had no past medical history of diabetes mellitus or of treatments for other pathologies. A physical examination was significant for severe edema in the right upper extremity. This was accompanied by a necrotic excoriation of the skin and soft tissue of the arm as well as the right chest wall. The patient mentioned no exposure to caustic burns or radiation.
A chest radiograph showed a massive pleural effusion with near complete collapse of the right lung. A CT scan of the chest was carried out. What is the suspected diagnosis of this injury? What would be the next step to establishing a definite diagnosis? *This image-based content is from the Docplexus editorial team for educative purposes only. Source: JAMA SURG (The…
