Caleb Bakersfield, a 42-year-old real estate agent, had justreturned from a vacation to Russia. His childhood had been roughbecause of an alcoholic and abusive father, and Caleb had startedhis own drug addiction in his early teens. By his early twenties,he was addicted to heroin, lived on the streets, and frequentlyused dirty needles. In his thirties, Caleb joined a program to beathis addiction and to turn his life around. The trip to Russia wasto celebrate a decade of being clean.
Less than two months after his trip, Caleb started havingrespiratory complications, including a frequent cough and shortnessof breath. He figured it was most likely a respiratory infectionand made an appointment with his physician.
After listening to Caleb’s lungs, Dr. Bell determines that Calebmost likely has a lower respiratory infection and prescribes theantibiotic azithromycin. Dr. Bell reminds Caleb that it isimportant to complete his entire course of antibiotics, even if hefeels better before he finishes all of the medicine. Dr. Bell alsocollects a sputum sample (mucus coughed up from the lowerrespiratory tract) and sends it to the laboratory forevaluation.
