[Role of computed tomography in bronchial carcinoid tumors for diagnosis and local staging]

Report radiographic aspects and assess the contribution of computed tomography for the diagnosis and search for extension of bronchial carcinoid tumors.

This retrospective study included 9 patients with a bronchial carcinoid tumor during a four years period. In all patients, the exploration included standard chest radiography, computed tomography (CT) and abdominal ultrasonography.

This series included three females and six males, mean age 25 years (age range 20-52 years). The average time between clinical symptoms and diagnosis was 24 months. The important signs were chest pain, dry cough and dyspnea in 7 cases, hemoptysis in 4 cases. Chest radiography has objectified a rounded opacity speculated in 4 cases, opacity systematized in 3 cases and an opaque lung in 2 cases. Computed tomography (CT) revealed an endobronchial process with a endobronchial budding in 5 cases, pneumonia systematized in 4 cases, collapse in 7 cases, a localized dilatation of bronchus in 2 cases, lymph node metastases in 4 cases. Bronchoscopy has the macroscopic diagnosis in all cases. All patients have surgical treatment, the lobectomy in 4 cases, pneumonectomy in 3 cases and bilobectomy in 2 cases.

CT is indispensable for positive diagnosis, and topographic localization of extension of bronchial carcinoid tumors. The main contribution of CT compared with fibroscopy is to demonstrate exobronchial tumor development and upstream pulmonary complications.