22nd May 2024

A 56-year-old lifelong smoker is referred by her GP

A 56-year-old lifelong smoker is referred by her GP owing to a 4-day history of increasing shortness of breath. She has a tachypnoea at 28 breaths per minute 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, nor has she been on holiday recently. She lives alone and works as an administrator for the council. There is no history of weight-loss. You suspect a community acquired pneumonia.

Which of the following is correct regarding this patient’s management?

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