2nd August 2023

You are an F2 on a night shift in ED, and you take a blue call for a 55-year-old woman who has come in with respiratory distress.

You are an F2 on a night shift in ED, and you take a blue call for a 55-year-old woman who has come in with respiratory distress. On the first assessment, she requires 15L oxygen via a non-rebreathe mask and is tachypnoeic with a respiratory rate of 35. She has a temperature of 37.8 and a pulse of 134 bpm. Her blood pressure is 95/60. She has crackles at her left lung base and a raised JVP on examination. Her ECG shows sinus tachycardia. Bloods show raised inflammatory markers and D-dimer. Her CXR is pending.

She gives a history of worsening SOB and pleuritic chest pain over a period of 5 days. It initially came on suddenly but has been getting progressively worse. She has been coughing up some sputum and had frank haemoptysis. She has felt feverish at home.

She has a PMH of depression and takes sertraline.

What is the most likely diagnosis?

Select the SINGLE most appropriate option from the list below. Select ONE option only.