Case presentation An 18-year-old female presented to the emergency department with shortness of breath for 3-4 days. Her oxygen saturation was 89% at rest and 79% during ambulation. She was administered oxygen through a nasal cannula, but her oxygen saturation remained at 90%.
Following this, she had cough, nausea, and headache. There was no chest pain, fever, or history of hospitalization for similar symptoms. On examination Physical examination: Tachycardia and tachypnea Respiratory auscultation: Reduced breath sounds, wheezing on expiration, bilateral rhonchi, prolonged expiratory phase, and use of accessory muscles while breathing Personal history Smoking: 1-pack year of cigarette smoking, infrequent marijuana Investigations PA chest x-ray: Mild hyperinflation without pathology (Figure 2, cover page) CT angiogram: Bilateral patchy infiltrates (Figure 1, cover page) Sputum stain and…
