22nd May 2024

A 56-year-old lifelong smoker is referred by her GP owing to a 4-day history of increasing shortness of breath

A 56-year-old lifelong smoker is referred by her GP owing to a 4-day history of increasing shortness of breath. She is tachypnoeic at 28 and saturations are 92% on air. She is tachycardic at 101 bpm, BP is 119/66 mmHg. She has coarse crackles in the right lower zone. She is pyrexial at 38.1 degrees Celsius. Blood tests show a urea of 9.1 mmol/L. She is not confused. She has not had any exposure to known infectious contacts or been on holiday recently. She lives alone and works as an administrator for the council. There is no history of weight loss. A CXR demonstrates a right lower lobe pneumonia. She is treated for a CAP and recovers well. She is now ready to be discharged with a further 2 days of oral antibiotics, which will allow her to complete a 5-day course.

Which of the following is correct regarding this patient’s follow-up?

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