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.
Medical Image of the Week: Septic Emboli from Elbow Abscess
Figure 1. Panel A: Multiple thick wall cavities. Panel B: pneumothorax (arrows).
A 45 year old man with past medical history of rheumatoid arthritis and intravenous drug use presented with a several week history of progressive right elbow pain. He underwent incision and drainage with an operative diagnosis of septic arthritis. He developed postoperative respiratory failure requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. Wound and blood cultures grew methacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. CT Chest revealed multiple thick walled cavities (A) from septic emboli as well as rupture of a pneumatocele causing a pneumothorax (B, arrows) necessitating chest tube insertion.
John F. Rosell, MD, Janet Campion, MD and Philip Factor, DO
Departments of Medicine and Emergency Medicine
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ
Reference as: Rosell JF, Campion J, Factor P. Medical image of the week: septic emboli from elbow abscess. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2013;7(1):27. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc088-13 PDF