A patient with chronic productive cough, recurrent chest infections and thickened bronchial walls on CT with dilated airways has Pseudomonas aeruginosa grown on sputum. What is the diagnosis?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Bronchiectasis
- Step 1: Persistent sputum, infections and airway dilatation on CT define bronchiectasis. Step 2. Management includes airway clearance with physiotherapy, antibiotics for exacerbations guided by sputum culture and treating the cause. Answer: Bronchiectasis. Why not the others: Interstitial lung disease causes dry cough and restrictive physiology. Pulmonary embolism is acute. Sarcoidosis causes hilar nodes and infiltrates and does not typically colonise with Pseudomonas.
Practise more Respiratory medicine.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed UKMLA Applied Knowledge Test (MSRA-style single best answer) mock tests.
More Respiratory medicine questions
- A 70-year-old man is newly confused. His respiratory rate is 28, blood pressure 100/70 mmHg, urea 9 mmol/L and he has consolidation on chest…
- What is the first-line antibiotic for community-acquired pneumonia of low severity in an adult, according to NICE?
- Under NICE, BTS and SIGN asthma guidance, what is the preferred initial reliever approach in a newly diagnosed adult with asthma?
- A 66-year-old ex-smoker with COPD has breathlessness affecting daily activities and no asthmatic features. His inhaled SABA is not enough. W…
- A patient with severe COPD is given high-flow oxygen on the way to hospital and becomes drowsy. What oxygen saturation target is recommended…
- A tall, thin 19-year-old smoker has sudden right pleuritic chest pain and breathlessness. There is hyperresonance and reduced breath sounds…