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Lung cysts in subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis
Tomas Franquet1, David M Hansell, Taiwo Senbanjo
1Department of Radiology, Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Center, University of British Columbia, 855 W. 12th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1M9, Canada.
Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography
|July 30, 2003
Summary
Thin-walled cysts appear in 13% of subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis patients. These lung cysts, identified via high-resolution computed tomography (CT), have an uncertain cause.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Radiology
- Pathology
Background:
- Subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis is an interstitial lung disease.
- High-resolution computed tomography (CT) is crucial for diagnosing lung conditions.
- Cystic lung lesions are not typically associated with hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the frequency of cystic lesions in subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
- To characterize the CT findings of cysts in these patients.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of high-resolution CT scans from 182 patients with subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
- Exclusion of patients with emphysema, fibrosis, or connective tissue disease.
- Evaluation by two thoracic radiologists for the presence and characteristics of lung cysts.
Main Results:
- Cystic lesions were identified in 24 (13%) of the 182 patients.
- Cysts were thin-walled, 3-25 mm in diameter, and ranged from 1 to 15 in number.
- Air trapping was noted in 16 of the 24 patients with cysts.
Conclusions:
- Thin-walled cysts can be an incidental finding in a subset of subacute hypersensitivity pneumonitis patients.
- The cysts observed resemble those seen in lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia.
- The pathogenesis of these cysts in hypersensitivity pneumonitis remains unclear.