Case presentation
Initial presentation
A 60 year-old male with a history of stage IIB rectal cancer
was brought to the ED by his son for 2 weeks of progressive
shortness of breath. The patient had previously
undergone surgery and radiation for this disease. In
addition, he had an indwelling central venous catheter
with a portal reservoir for chemotherapy, which had not
been used for the last year. The patient had recently
stopped taking all of his medications and was refusing
other care from his family.
On physical examination, the patient was alert and
oriented to name and place, but was ill-appearing and
had difficulty answering most questions. His initial vital
signs were as follows: temperature 97.2°F, heart rate
41 beats per minute, blood pressure 84/53 mmHg,respiratory rate 38 breaths per minute, and oxygen saturation
82% on room air. An indwelling catheter was
present in the right chest wall with the portal reservoir
removed. The outer portion of the catheter appeared to
have been poorly cared for, but there were no overt signs
of infection. Pulmonary examination demonstrated rales
bilaterally. Cardiac auscultation was significant for a 3/6
pan-systolic murmur that was best heard at the left
sternal border. Further examination demonstrated large
confluent purple macules on his lower extremities and
black-colored toes [see Additional file 1: Image 1].
Peripheral pulses were 1+ and equal bilaterally.