CT appearance of bronchial carcinoid with recurrent pneumonia and hyperplastic hilar lymphadenopathy

Computed tomography in a man with recurrent right lower lobe pneumonias showed an endobronchial mass associated with hilar lymph node enlargement. Because of this combination of findings, bronchogenic carcinoma with hilar node involvement was suggested as likely. Surgery revealed a carcinoid bronchial adenoma limited to the bronchus, with hyperplastic lymph node enlargement resulting from pneumonia. Care must be taken not to assume that hilar lymph node enlargement represents tumor, even when associated with an endobronchial lesion.