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Updated: Nov 11, 2025
Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound in Adults: Image Acquisition
Published on: March 3, 2023
Pulmonary aspergilloma on transthoracic ultrasound
Lisa C Ruby1, Rajagopal Kadavigere2, Shubha Sheshadri3
1Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Immunology and Critical Care Medicine, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Purpose:
Pulmonary aspergilloma affects immunocompromised patients but is also a recurrent condition in patients previously treated for pulmonary tuberculosis.
Methods And Results:
We report the case of a 45-year-old patient with a history of cured pulmonary tuberculosis 15 years earlier in whom we visualized pulmonary aspergilloma by transthoracic lung sonography. Sonography of pulmonary aspergilloma demonstrated an oval cavity with hypoechoic contents and an irregular border, measuring a diameter of 4.7 cm; inside the lesion, a roundish structure with an anechoic rim was discernable.
Conclusions:
The sonographic findings corresponded to chest X-ray and computed tomography imaging in this patient and to previously reported sonographic characteristics of mycotic abscesses in other organs. Lung ultrasound may be a tool to identify pulmonary aspergilloma, especially as a point-of-care imaging tool and where other imaging modalities are inaccessible.
Insights
Pulmonary aspergilloma can recur in patients with prior tuberculosis. Transthoracic lung ultrasound identified a case, showing characteristic features of a mycotic abscess. This imaging may aid diagnosis, especially in resource-limited settings.
Area of Science:
- Medical Imaging
- Pulmonology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Pulmonary aspergilloma is a significant concern in immunocompromised individuals.
- It can also be a recurrent condition in patients with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis.
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