An Adult With a 10 Day History of Cough

NP Certification Q&A

A 28‑year‑old male non‑smoker with no chronic health problems presents with a 10‑day history of persistent cough that's worse at night, stating, "I started with a head cold about two weeks ago. The cold moved into my chest." He reports mild chest discomfort with deep cough, rare production of small amounts of clear to white sputum, and feels tired because, "the cough keeps waking me up." He denies sore throat, fever, ear pain, shortness of breath, or GI symptoms. Objective temp 97.6, heart rate 72, respiratory rate 18, BP 112 over 68, SpO2 is 99%, no acute distress, mild pharyngeal redness, no lymphadenopathy, chest without crackles, occasional dry cough, abdominal exam is within normal limits. 

Which of the following is the most appropriate next step?

A. Prescribe one week of oral amoxicillin.

B. Order a chest x-ray

C. Prescribe a five-day course of azithromycin

D. Provide advice about symptomatic care

---

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlTB1oBGISY&list=PLf0PFEPBXfq592b5zCthlxSNIEM-H-EtD&index=137

Visit fhea.com to learn more!

More description

A 28‑year‑old male non‑smoker with no chronic health problems presents with a 10‑day history of persistent cough that's worse at night, stating, "I started with a head cold about two weeks ago. The cold moved into my chest." He reports mild chest discomfort with deep cough, rare production of small amounts of clear to white sputum, and feels tired because, "the cough keeps waking me up." He denies sore throat, fever, ear pain, shortness of breath, or GI symptoms. Objective temp 97.6, heart rate 72, respiratory rate 18, BP 112 over 68, SpO2 is 99%, no acute distress, mild pharyngeal redness, no lymphadenopathy, chest without crackles, occasional dry cough, abdominal exam is within normal limits. 

Which of the following is the most appropriate next step?

A. Prescribe one week of oral amoxicillin.

B. Order a chest x-ray

C. Prescribe a five-day course of azithromycin

D. Provide advice about symptomatic care

---

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlTB1oBGISY&list=PLf0PFEPBXfq592b5zCthlxSNIEM-H-EtD&index=137

Visit fhea.com to learn more!

2026-04-06 17 min Transcript
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

Open the Transcript tab to load the transcript.

Chapters

No chapters available.