Case 20-1997

Abstract

Presentation of CaseA 74-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of increasing dyspnea and a cough.The patient had been well until five months earlier, when dyspnea developed with a cough that produced minimal amounts of clear sputum. An antibiotic was prescribed, but it was ineffective. Another antibiotic was administered three weeks later, again without success. The dyspnea worsened over the next few weeks, and the patient could not play golf or maintain his active lifestyle.Seven weeks before the current admission, the patient entered another hospital. The temperature was 38.1°C. The white-cell count was 17,100 per cubic . . .