11th January 2024

A 79-year-old lady presents to the Emergency Department with worsening shortness of breath for the last 2 weeks.

A 79-year-old lady presents to the Emergency Department with worsening shortness of breath for the last 2 weeks. She reports pleuritic chest pain but no cough, sputum production or temperatures. She was previously treated for a left-sided stage I non-small cell lung carcinoma in 2016 with a lobectomy. On examination, she has a scar consistent with a lobectomy on the left, dullness to percussion throughout the right side, and a trachea deviated to the left. Her respiratory rate is 24 breaths/min, and her oxygen saturations 94% on 6L of oxygen. 

What is the most likely cause of the clinical findings?

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