[Current principles of diagnosis of cavitary formations in the lungs]

Tuberculosis, cancer or abscessed pneumonia were diagnosed in 141 (84%) of the 168 patients who had solitary cavities in the lungs in the absence of M. tuberculosis or cancer cells isolation. The most informative diagnostic signs in these cases are provided by sex, age, special features of the onset and course of the disease in the period between diagnosis establishment and patients' hospitalization, data obtained when fluorograms taken from archives were compared with the X-ray picture at the moment of disease detection as well as by the results of serological reactions such as tuberculous antigen detection and Mantoux test, and blood level fibrinogen determination. On the second stage of examination the supplementary signs were obtained in bronchoscopy, cytologic examination of the bronchial contents after prescription of irritating inhalations and prednisolone test and immunologic study. Correct diagnosis can be established in 99% of the cases in the presence of simultaneously five and more significant signs.