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Sharp shoulder pain, getting worse, after a fall
BMJ 2017; 356 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j571 (Published 16 February 2017) Cite this as: BMJ 2017;356:j571
- Lauren Ramsay, radiology specialist registrar
- Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, UK
- Correspondence to L Ramsay laurie.ramsay{at}gmail.com
A 62 year old man saw his general practitioner with worsening shoulder pain after a minor fall. The GP requested a radiograph. On the basis of the radiograph alone (fig 1), what imaging would you request next?
Fig 1
Anteroposterior plain radiograph of the right shoulder
Short answer
Computed tomography (CT) of the chest and upper abdomen. The shoulder radiograph shows a cavitating lung nodule measuring approximately 2 cm (fig 2). This is most likely a primary lung carcinoma and should be investigated with referral to the …
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