Question

A 68-year-old patient presents with symptoms of dyspnea, fatigue, and a cough with frothy white sputum. Upon physical exam, you note obvious jugular vein dissension and 4+ pitting edema. You order a chest x-ray. What sign do you suspect to see on the x-ray, and what is this sign indicative of?

A) Widened mediastinum - indicative of aortic dissection
B) Kerley B lines - indicative of congestive heart failure
C) Ground-glass opacities - indicative of pneumonia
D) Air bronchograms - indicative of atelectasis

Answer 1

The sign that you would expect to see on the chest x-ray is consolidation, indicated by opaque patches or shadows in the lungs. This signifies a condition such as pneumonia, which is characterized by the filling of the air sacs in the lungs with fluid or mucus.

Step-by-step explanation:

The sign that you would expect to see on the chest x-ray is consolidation, indicated by opaque patches or shadows in the lungs. This signifies a condition such as pneumonia, which is characterized by the filling of the air sacs in the lungs with fluid or mucus. In the given patient's case, the symptoms of dyspnea, fatigue, and cough with frothy white sputum, along with physical exam findings such as jugular vein distension and pitting edema, are indicative of congestive heart failure. Pulmonary edema, a common symptom of heart failure, can lead to the development of pneumonia.