Woman with fever, productive cough, and shortness of breath

A 65-year old woman complains of recent onset right-sided chest pain, fever, productive cough with rust-colored sputum, and shortness of breath. Chest x-ray reveals an infiltrate in the right-middle lobe. A lung biopsy demonstrates alveolar spaces filled with neutrophils. Cultures are positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae. The patient is started on antibiotic therapy.

The correct answer is B. Acute bacterial pneumonia. There were a total of 23 responses. A breakdown of responses are inside the parentheses below.

The most likely diagnosis is:

A. Acute viral pneumonia (0)
B. Acute bacterial pneumonia (23)
C. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (0)
D. Asthma (0)
E. Chronic bronchitis (0)

(see results graphically)