Pleurisy is classically characterized by which symptom?

Pleurisy is classically characterized by which symptom?

• A. Fever and chills with severe chest pain
• B. Sharp, stabbing chest pain that worsens with breathing
• C. Persistent dull ache not related to respiration
• D. Productive cough with purulent sputum

Answer: (B)

Pleurisy presents with pleuritic chest pain—sharp, stabbing, and localized to the affected side. The hallmark is that the pain worsens with deep breathing, coughing, or sneezing as the inflamed pleura rubs against the chest wall with each breath. This sharp, breath‑related pain is what distinguishes pleurisy from other chest pain syndromes. Sometimes a pleural friction rub is heard on auscultation, and the underlying cause (infection, hemorrhage, autoimmune disease, pulmonary embolism) often drives additional symptoms like fever, but the characteristic feature remains the pain that worsens with respiration. The other choices describe symptoms more typical of non-pleural conditions: fever and chills with severe chest pain can occur with infections but is not the defining pleuritic feature; a dull ache not related to respiration points away from pleural inflammation; a productive cough with purulent sputum suggests bronchitis or pneumonia rather than pleurisy.

Pleurisy presents with pleuritic chest pain—sharp, stabbing, and localized to the affected side. The hallmark is that the pain worsens with deep breathing, coughing, or sneezing as the inflamed pleura rubs against the chest wall with each breath. This sharp, breath‑related pain is what distinguishes pleurisy from other chest pain syndromes. Sometimes a pleural friction rub is heard on auscultation, and the underlying cause (infection, hemorrhage, autoimmune disease, pulmonary embolism) often drives additional symptoms like fever, but the characteristic feature remains the pain that worsens with respiration. The other choices describe symptoms more typical of non-pleural conditions: fever and chills with severe chest pain can occur with infections but is not the defining pleuritic feature; a dull ache not related to respiration points away from pleural inflammation; a productive cough with purulent sputum suggests bronchitis or pneumonia rather than pleurisy.