Yellow Sputum in Medicine / Internal Medicine — 45yo Man | Respiratory / Pulmonology | SMLE Q#11228
SMLE Question #11228
Medicine / Internal Medicine
Respiratory / Pulmonology
Objective: OBJ-123
Last updated: February 2026
A 45-year-old man has 2 weeks of fatigue, low-grade fever, and productive cough with yellow sputum, with right-sided pleuritic chest pain and dyspnea on exertion. He was treated with oral antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia 10 days ago with minimal improvement. Examination shows decreased breath sounds, dullness to percussion, and decreased tactile fremitus over the right lower lung field. Chest X-ray shows a homogeneous right lower zone opacity with a meniscus-shaped upper border and blunting of the right costophrenic angle. Which diagnosis best explains this chest X-ray finding?
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