Chest
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A 64-year-old man with a past medical history of alcoholic cirrhosis with resultant hepatorenal syndrome requiring kidney and liver transplantation 10 years previously sought treatment at the ED with progressive lower-extremity edema and dyspnea. After noting worsening shortness of breath and cough as an outpatient, he had been referred to a pulmonary clinic and was undergoing a workup for interstitial lung disease (ILD). ⋯ He was also receiving chronic immunosuppression with tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil. He had noted worsening of edema since starting prednisone.
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Pulmonary extra-intestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease are rare, comprising 0.21% to 0.4% of the inflammatory bowel disease population. Common symptoms include cough, chest pain, and dyspnea. Abnormal pulmonary function tests are common in these patients, with restrictive, obstructive, and diffusion capacity defects. ⋯ We present a case of a patient with ulcerative proctitis who experienced the development of inflammatory tracheitis and mediastinitis. Her disease responded to systemic steroids and biologic therapy. In addition to our case, we reviewed the literature and provide an approach to pulmonary complications as extra-intestinal manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease.
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A 60-year-old man with a history of COPD, uncontrolled diabetes (hemoglobin A1c, 10.6%), obesity (BMI, 33.4), and a family history of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome came to the ED with several hours of acute-onset severe left mid-axillary pleuritic chest pain without alleviating factors. The pain had no specific triggers, including activities or heavy meals. It was associated with nausea, chills, and diaphoresis; also, it was preceded by a few weeks of subacute flulike symptoms for which he did not seek medical attention. He denied previous similar symptoms, recent trauma, or surgeries.
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A 70-year-old woman was transferred to our ED from an outside ED for hypoxemia. Three weeks earlier, an inpatient evaluation for syncope revealed a right intraventricular filling defect, multiple pulmonary nodules, pulmonary emboli, and a left breast mass. ⋯ She experienced progressively worsening dyspnea, prompting a return to the outside ED, where she was found to be severely hypoxemic and was intubated. Her medical history included diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, COPD, hypothyroidism, diastolic heart failure, and a 40+ pack-year smoking history.