Imaging
Those who care for patients with pulmonary, critical care or sleep disorders rely heavily on chest radiology and pathology to determine diagnoses. The Southwest Journal of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep publishes case-based articles with characteristic chest imaging and related pathology.
The editor of this section will oversee and coordinate the publication of a core of the most important chest imaging topics. In doing so, they encourage the submission of unsolicited manuscripts. It cannot be overemphasized that both radiologic and pathologic images must be of excellent quality. As a rule, 600 DPI is sufficient for radiographic and pathologic images. Taking pictures of plain chest radiographs and CT scans with a digital camera is strongly discouraged. The figures should be cited in the text and numbered consecutively. The stain used for pathology specimens and magnification should be mentioned in the figure legend. Those who care for patients with pulmonary, critical care or sleep disorders rely heavily on chest radiology and pathology to determine diagnoses. The Southwest Journal of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep publishes case-based articles with characteristic chest imaging and related pathology. The editor of this section will oversee and coordinate the publication of a core of the most important chest imaging topics. In doing so, they encourage the submission of unsolicited manuscripts. It cannot be overemphasized that both radiologic and pathologic images must be of excellent quality. As a rule, 600 DPI is sufficient for radiographic and pathologic images. Taking pictures of plain chest radiographs and CT scans with a digital camera is strongly discouraged. The figures should be cited in the text and numbered consecutively. The stain used for pathology specimens and magnification should be mentioned in the figure legend.
April 2012 Imaging Case of the Month
Michael B. Gotway, MD
Associate Editor, Imaging
Clinical History: A 31-year-old previously healthy, immunocompetent, non-smoking female developed cough and was initially treated with broad spectrum antibiotics without improvement. Approximately 48 hours later, the patient presented to her physician with progressive shortness of breath and fever to 103°F. A chest radiograph was performed (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Frontal chest radiograph shows extensive bilateral pulmonary opacities predominantly in the lower lobes with preserved lung volumes, normal mediastinal width, and no definite pleural effusion.
The differential diagnostic considerations for the appearance on the chest radiograph include which of the following?
- Hydrostatic pulmonary edema
- Acute hypersensitivity pneumonitis
- Community-acquired pneumonia
- Opportunistic pulmonary infection
- All of the above
Reference as: Gotway MB. April 2012 imaging case of the month. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care 2012;4:102-10. (Click here for a PDF version)