22nd May 2024

An 84-year-old male is referred to the acute medical unit by his GP with a cough and is short of breath

An 84-year-old male is referred to the acute medical unit by his GP with a cough and is short of breath. His GP was concerned he may be septic. He has a history of Type 2 diabetes, COPD with multiple hospital admissions, benign prostatic hypertrophy and IHD. On review, he is sitting up and well orientated. He is on 2L of oxygen via nasal cannula. His RR is 22, his saturations are 90%. His HR is 92, BP is 122/99. He is pyrexial at 38.9. His CRP is 200 mg/dL, Hb 98 g/L, WCC 20 x 109/L, platelets 200  x 10⁹/L, urea is 7.7 mmol/L and creatinine is 99 μmol/L. He has a wheezy chest with some localised right basal bronchial breathing.

Which of the following is correct regarding his diagnosis?

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