[Computed tomography in diagnosis of post-tuberculous intrathoracic lymphadenopathies]

Among 454 adults with various lung diseases, patients with calcified intrathoracic lymph nodes (CITLN) formed after latent and spontaneously cured primary tuberculosis infection were identified by computed tomographic findings. Among the patients with tuberculosis, there were 6% of cases with CITLN, 68% with central cancer, 46% with peripheral cancer, 37% with pneumonia. Among the patients with tuberculosis, CITLN as a possible source of reactivation of tuberculosis infection and occurrence of secondary tuberculosis had no substantial impact on the occurrence of secondary tuberculosis in adults. The pathogenetic significance of CITLN can be followed in malignant tumors, bacterial pneumonias, and in central cancer of the lung in particular.