An 81-Year-Old Man With Shortness of Breath After Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy for Lung Cancer
Abstract
An 81-year-old man was admitted for evaluation of progressive dyspnea over the previous 4 weeks. He initially noticed dyspnea when walking briskly, but this progressed to dyspnea after only walking several feet. He also endorsed a dry cough without hemoptysis. Review of systems revealed a history of intermittent low-grade fevers, malaise, and nonexertional chest pain. He had been treated for a urinary tract infection twice over the past 3 weeks with prolonged courses of levofloxacin; while his urinary symptoms improved, his respiratory symptoms did not. Medical history was pertinent for lung adenocarcinoma stage IIIb status post right upper lobectomy 10 years prior with recurrence of lung adenocarcinoma in the right lower lobe and was recently diagnosed with stage 1 primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma. He had been a longstanding tobacco smoker but quit two decades ago. Treatment of his recurrent lung adenocarcinoma included four cycles of carboplatin-pemetrexed over the preceding 5 months and intensity-modulated radiation therapy totaling 60 Gy over 30 fractions to his right lower lobe 2 months prior to presentation. He also received stereotactic body radiation therapy totaling 45 Gy over five fractions to his pancreas.
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