A 47-Year-Old Man With Recurrent Unilateral Pleural Effusion

A 47-year-old man with a medical history of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and OSA presented with a 7- to 10-day history of progressively worsening dyspnea on exertion, with a walking distance of 60 feet. He had bilateral lower-extremity swelling and was prescribed furosemide without clinical improvement. At baseline, he used three pillows for sleeping. The patient was noncompliant with his CPAP treatment. He had no smoking history and was retired from working in technology sales. On review of systems, he denied cough, chest pain, hemoptysis, fevers, chills, or weight loss.