High-resolution computed tomography to differentiate chronic diffuse interstitial lung diseases with predominant ground-glass pattern using logical analysis of data.

Objectives: We evaluated the performance of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) to differentiate chronic diffuse interstitial lung diseases (CDILD) with predominant ground-glass pattern by using logical analysis of data (LAD).

Methods: A total of 162 patients were classified into seven categories: sarcoidosis (n = 38), connective tissue disease (n = 32), hypersensitivity pneumonitis (n = 18), drug-induced lung disease (n = 15), alveolar proteinosis (n = 12), idiopathic non-specific interstitial pneumonia (n = 10) and miscellaneous (n = 37). First, 40 CT attributes were investigated by the LAD to build up patterns characterising a category.

Pulmonary cavitary sarcoidosis: clinico-radiologic characteristics and natural history of a rare form of sarcoidosis.

Pulmonary cavitary lesions in the absence of concomitant comorbidities are an uncommon and often confusing manifestation of sarcoidosis. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) characteristics and the natural history of a series of 23 patients with pulmonary cavitary lesions found on HRCT extracted from a large cohort of patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. The estimated prevalence of cavitary sarcoidosis was 2.

Imaging in sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology that may involve virtually any organ. Pulmonary involvement predominates, but sarcoidosis can involve multiple organs, with or without concomitant lung involvement. Aberrations on chest radiographs are present in more than 90% of patients with sarcoidosis.

[Imaging findings in interstitial lung disease].

Imaging is an essential step in the management of patients with interstitial lung disease, contributing to detection, diagnosis, evaluation of pulmonary damage and prognosis, surveillance, and screening for complications. The chest x-ray is the fundamental examination. High-resolution computed tomography is often useful, particularly for severe forms and for cases of difficult diagnosis.

Pulmonary cryptococcosis.

Pulmonary cryptococcosis is the consequence of the inhalation of Cryptococcus neoformans, an encapsulated yeast, from various environmental sources. It is commonly accepted that the acquisition of the disease occurs early in life and that the disease is mostly related to a reactivation from a pulmonary site in immunocompromised hosts such as patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus. Clinical and radiological presentations of the disease are nonspecific and are more severe in immunocompromised hosts with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

CT findings in severe thoracic sarcoidosis.

Severe thoracic sarcoidosis includes manifestations with significant clinical and functional impairment and a risk of mortality. Severe thoracic sarcoidosis can take on various clinical presentations and is associated with increased morbidity. The purpose of this article was to describe the CT findings in severe thoracic sarcoidosis and to explain some of their mechanisms.

Thin-section chest CT findings of primary Sjögren's syndrome: correlation with pulmonary function.

The purpose of this study was to describe thin-section CT findings of lung involvement in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (PSS), and to correlate them with pulmonary function tests (PFT). The chest thin-section CT examinations of 35 patients with proven diagnosis of PSS and respiratory symptoms were retrospectively assessed by two observers, in a first step independently with interobserver evaluation, and in a second step in consensus. The extent of the most frequent CT findings was scored.

New frontiers in CT imaging of airway disease.

Combining helical volumetric CT acquisition and thin-slice thickness during breath hold provides an accurate assessment of both focal and diffuse airway diseases. With multiple detector rows, compared with single-slice helical CT, multislice CT can cover a greater volume, during a simple breath hold, and with better longitudinal and in-plane spatial resolution and improved temporal resolution. The result in data set allows the generation of superior multiplanar and 3D images of the airways, including those obtained from techniques developed specifically for airway imaging, such as virtual bronchography and virtual bronchoscopy.