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Elderly Woman With Altered Mental Status and Hypoxia
IMAGES IN EMERGENCY MEDICINE Rebecca A. Martin, MD, PhD; David Wharton, MD; Chad Barker, MD; Claudia D. Haivas, MD; Berneet Kaur, MD; Jessica Whittle, MD, PhD 0196-0644/$-see front matter Copyright © 2016 by the American College of Emergency Physicians. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2016.04.002
Figure 1. CT pulmonary angiogram revealing hyperdense material within the subsegmental and distal pulmonary arteries (arrows). Contrast is present within the superior vena cava (asterisk).
Figure 2. Chest radiograph demonstrating bilateral linear and lobulated opacities (arrows).
[Ann Emerg Med. 2016;68:778.] A 78-year-old woman with osteoporosis and no known lung disease presented to the emergency department with 3 days of persistent confusion that began immediately after an elective kyphoplasty. Physical examination revealed a confused, mildly dyspneic woman. Arterial blood gas demonstrated hypoxemia, and an ECG indicated right-sided heart strain. Computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiogram (Figure 1) and a chest radiograph (Figure 2) revealed the cause of her hypoxemia.
For the diagnosis and teaching points, see page 789. To view the entire collection of Images in Emergency Medicine, visit www.annemergmed.com 778 Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 68, no. 6 : December 2016
Volume 68, no. 6 : December 2016
Annals of Emergency Medicine 789
Figure 1. CT pulmonary angiogram revealing hyperdense material within the subsegmental and distal pulmonary arteries (arrows). Contrast is present within the superior vena cava (asterisk).
Figure 2. Chest radiograph demonstrating bilateral linear and lobulated opacities (arrows).
[Ann Emerg Med. 2016;68:778.] A 78-year-old woman with osteoporosis and no known lung disease presented to the emergency department with 3 days of persistent confusion that began immediately after an elective kyphoplasty. Physical examination revealed a confused, mildly dyspneic woman. Arterial blood gas demonstrated hypoxemia, and an ECG indicated right-sided heart strain. Computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiogram (Figure 1) and a chest radiograph (Figure 2) revealed the cause of her hypoxemia.
For the diagnosis and teaching points, see page 789. To view the entire collection of Images in Emergency Medicine, visit www.annemergmed.com 778 Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 68, no. 6 : December 2016
Volume 68, no. 6 : December 2016
Annals of Emergency Medicine 789