# A 52-Year-Old Woman With Shortness of Breath and Left Lower Back Pain

## TL;DR

A 52-year-old woman with a history of smoking experiences worsening shortness of breath and back pain, with no improvement after antibiotic treatment.

## Contribution

The case highlights a persistent respiratory issue unresponsive to standard antibiotic therapy.

## Key findings

- The patient's symptoms included shortness of breath and left lower back pain for 6 months.
- Chest radiograph showed left lower lobe consolidation.
- Treatment with amoxicillin-clavulanate for 2 weeks was ineffective.

## Abstract

A 52-year-old woman presented to the clinic with progressively worsening shortness of breath associated with intermittent pleuritic left lower back pain for the past 6 months. The patient denied any cough, hemoptysis, fever, chills, or weight loss. She had a history of smoking cigarettes for more than 10 years but quit almost 20 years ago. An outpatient chest radiograph was obtained, and it suggested consolidation of the left lower lobe. The patient was treated empirically with amoxicillin-clavulanate for 2 weeks without improvement.