Claudio Tana – articles in this journalCorresponding author
EmailInternal Medicine and Critical Subacute Care Unit, Medicine Geriatric-Rehabilitation Department, University-Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy.
Francesco Cipollone – articles in this journalCe.S.I.-Met; and Geriatrics Clinic, Department of Medicine and Science of Aging, G. D'Annunzio University of Chieti; Regional Center for the Study of Atherosclerosis, Hypertension and Dyslipidemia, S.S. Annunziata Hospital, ASL Chieti, Italy.
Tiziana Meschi – articles in this journalInternal Medicine and Critical Subacute Care Unit, Medicine Geriatric-Rehabilitation Department, University-Hospital of Parma, Parma, Italy.
Orthopnea is a sensation of shortness of breath, which occurs in recumbent position and is usually improved by standing or sitting. The authors report a case of an 81-year-old woman presented to the Emergency Department with a two-week history of orthopnea, fever and low back pain resistant to analgesics. Radiological findings confirm the presence of a diafragmatic hernia, and clinicians should pay attention to any history of trauma, because their absence in symptomatic adult patients directs towards a congenital cause. A surgical repair should be promptly obtained to avoid further general and respiratory deterioration.
