Case Published: December 2018

History of Present Illness (HPI)

A 52 year-old woman with a past medical history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and asthma presents to the hospital with progressively worsening shortness of breath, productive cough, and fevers.

She tells you she developed upper respiratory symptoms with nasal congestion and post-nasal drip approximately one week ago. Over the past few days she has noted cough productive of yellow sputum, fever, shaking chills, and shortness of breath. She also reports poor appetite and nausea but denies vomiting, abdominal pain, or diarrhea. She has continued to take her home medications including nifedipine, atorvastatin, and an albuterol inhaler, which she has been using more frequently. She has had a decrease in her urine output. She denies chest pain but does say she has felt light-headed over the past few days and nearly fainted this morning, prompting her to come to the Emergency Department.

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