Differentiating diaphragmatic paralysis and eventration.

Rationale And Objectives: Although elevation of the diaphragm can be appreciated on conventional PA and lateral chest radiography, the modality is commonly viewed as inadequate to differentiate diaphragmatic paralysis from eventration. Our objective was to qualitatively and quantitatively measure the utility of chest radiography in determining the presence or absence of diaphragmatic paralysis in patients with an elevated diaphragm.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis of chest radiographs in 32 patients, whom underwent fluoroscopic sniff test for elevated diaphragm, was performed.

Cervical thoracic duct cyst.

Thoracic duct cysts are rare lesions presenting as mediastinal or supraclavicular masses. We report a case of a 77-year-old female who presented with a left supraclavicular mass. A cervical thoracic duct cyst was suspected after contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the neck and chest.

Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus: radiographic and high-resolution CT findings.

Reports associating lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis (LIP) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are exceedingly rare. This case demonstrates high-resolution CT (HRCT) findings of LIP including multiple thin-walled cysts throughout the lungs, which are known to occur in LIP, but have not been described in the radiologic literature in association with SLE.

Multidetector pulmonary CT angiography: advances in the evaluation of pulmonary arterial diseases.

Multidetector CT (MDCT) has a primary role in the evaluation of pulmonary artery diseases. Contrast-enhanced MDCT studies are ideally suited for assessment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary thromboembolic disease. It has become the primary modality to diagnose acute and chronic thromboembolic disease.

Contrast dynamics during CT pulmonary angiogram: analysis of an inspiration associated artifact.

Objective: Several artifacts have been observed during contrast-enhanced CT of the pulmonary arteries. We describe a physiological artifact caused by a transient interruption of the contrast column in the pulmonary arteries associated with inspiration immediately prior to imaging. This results from a variable inflow of unopacified blood from the inferior vena cava (IVC).

Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis: emerging concepts in pathobiology, radiology, and clinical evolution of disease.

Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) is an uncommon disorder of adult smokers associated with a significant morbidity. Arising from the aberrant accumulation of Langerhans and other immune cells, PLCH tends to cause a relatively isolated pulmonary involvement as compared to other forms of Langerhans cell (LC) and histiocytic disorders. Increased knowledge of cytokine triggers, dendritic cell trafficking, and clonality of LC populations in PLCH have resulted in an improved understanding of the pathobiology of PLCH.

Diffuse lung disease in the immunocompromised non-HIV patient.

Physicians are encountering an increasing number of patients with various levels of immunosuppression, such as patients with AIDS, transplant recipients, patients on immunosuppressive therapy, and those with congenital immune defects and malignancy. This results in a greater diagnostic dilemma for the medical community because of the significant increased risk of opportunistic infections and noninfectious complications, as well as a more aggressive clinical course with typical pathogens. [figure: see text] Furthermore, it is not just the pathogens that are changing but also their clinical and radiographic presentations.

Pulmonary complications in bone marrow transplantation.

This article reviews the most common pulmonary complications after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and their radiologic presentations. An approach emphasizing the common complications that occur in relation to the immunosuppression recovery timeline is presented. An update on newer techniques of marrow transplantation and preparatory regimen drugs will be discussed.