title: Pulmonary cavitation in a patient presenting with nonspecific complaints.
abstract: Most commonly, patients with pulmonary embolism present with dyspnea, chest pain, and/or tachypnea to the emergency department (ED). The presence of multiple suggestive symptoms, especially when severe, significantly reduces delay in diagnosis. We report a case of an 86-year-old patient presenting to the ED with nonspecific complaints: she claimed to feel lethargic and “reluctant to prepare meals.” She did not complain of either dyspnea or chest pain. As underlying cause, an intrapulmonary cavitation with pulmonary embolism was found. The combination of absence of specific symptoms regarding pulmonary embolism and radiologic findings of an obstructed pulmonary artery supplying the cavitary lung segment is rare. Common etiologies of cavitary lung processes are discussed, and risk factors of pulmonary infarction are highlighted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Anna Sarah
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Messmer
authors.forename: Katharina M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kubera
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Buser
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamm
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muenst
authors.forename: Christian H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Nickel
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bingisser
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D054060:Pulmonary Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed