A 75-year-old woman presenting to the emergency department with backache and respiratory distress

摘要

A 75-year-old female patient presented to the emergency department with complaints of backache and respiratory distress. Her medical history revealed hypertension and a myocardial infarction three weeks earlier, for which she was taking carbasalate calcium and clopidrogel. At presentation she was responsive, adequately and haemodynamically stable. Her arterial oxygen level was 98% with 5 liters of oxygen supplied by a nasal catheter. Chest X-ray showed a broadened mediastinum, a large non-specific density in the left upper part of the thoracic cavity and a tortuous outline of the thoracic aorta {figure 1).