Spontaneous Pneumothorax
Urgent message: In patients with chest pain, check chest films carefully to avoid missing an uncommon diagnosis. Joseph Toscano, MD Introduction The traditional differential diagnosis for chest pain includes spontaneous pneumothorax. Chest x-ray is necessary for confirming the diagnosis, and sometimes the findings can be subtle. As in dealing with any infrequently encountered condition, clinicians should consider the diagnosis and closely examine every chest film they order to avoid missing this uncommon diagnosis. Case Presentation …
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21-year-old patient with chest pain on the left side
This 21-year-old patient presented with chest pain on the left side and fever. View the image taken and consider what your diagnosis would be.
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33-year-old patient presenting vomiting and chest pain
This 33-year-old patient presented with pain in the left side of the chest. The patient was vomiting and not tolerating PO. View the image taken and consider what your diagnosis and next steps would be.
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Acute MI After a Normal Stress Test
Urgent message: Evaluation of chest pain in the low-risk patient can be daunting. This case, in which the patient had no known history of cardiovascular disease, exemplifies the challenge. MARREN J. WEBER, DO The standard treadmill exercise tolerance test (ETT) and echocardiography are widely used as the initial tests of choice for prediction of cardiovascular disease. Historically stress echocardiography has been recognized to perform well in predicting mortality in conjunction with clinical data and other …
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January 2011
April 2009
December 2007
A 20-Year-Old Male with Chest Pain
Urgent message: Atypical chest pain in a young male offers a challenge solved by ordering—and assessment—of the appropriate imaging. Shannon Dowler, MD The patient is a 20-year-old white male who presented to urgent care with a two-week history of mild dyspnea, with the onset of chest pain in the prior 24 hours. He denied wheezing, vomiting, and recent trauma, and reported that he has tried no medications for his symptoms. Further discussion with the patient …
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