Reexpansion pulmonary edema

Abstract

A 28-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with a 3-day history of cough with brown sputum; left-sided chest pain with cough; and shortness of breath. He denied having a fever. The patient had been taking penicillin for 2 days without improvement. He had a history of childhood asthma and a family history significant for his mother having had a spontaneous pneumothorax. The social history was notable for a smoking habit of 1 pack of cigarettes per day for the past 6 years. %The vital signs were normal except for a slightly increased respiratory rate of 20 breaths per minute. He was not in any distress and spoke clear sentences. There was no jugular venous distension. The trachea was midline. The chest examination was notable for absent breath sounds in the left chest. The right chest was clear. The rest of the physical examination was unremarkable.