Respiratory Woes: Smoking-Related or Not?-Case 1: Sudden-Onset Cough, Fatigue, and Confusion in an Elderly Woman

摘要

An 8 5-year-old woman was brought to the emergency department by her son, who stated that his mother had complained of a cough and generalized fatigue for 2 days. The cough was nonproductive, and she had not appeared to have a fever. , On the morning of evaluation, the patient became confused, saying repeatedly that she needed to "catch a bus." She had a history of cigarette smoking but had stopped smoking 20 years before. She also had congestive heart failure, for which she was taking digoxin. She had otherwise been in good health and lived independently.