Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia

Case contributed by Mark Holland
Diagnosis probable

Presentation

Presented to the GP with chronic cough. Patient had an incidental eosinophilia a year ago.

Patient Data

Age: 40 years
Gender: Female
x-ray
Download
Info

Patchy air space opacities in bilateral upper zones.

Download
Info

Reversed halo pattern (atoll sign): there are round focal areas of ground-glass attenuation with surrounding crescent or ring-shaped consolidation.

Case Discussion

Patient with organizing pneumonia shows a reversed halo pattern (atoll sign) where there are focal round areas of ground-glass attenuation with surrounding crescent or ring-shaped consolidation. This pattern of predominantly peripheral mid and upper zone organizing pneumonia can be seen in chronic eosinophilic pneumonia, a disease that presents with features of pneumonia but responds to corticosteroids. A history of asthma, peripheral blood eosiniphilia and eosinophilia on bronchoalveolar lavage are diagnostic.

How to use cases

You can use Radiopaedia cases in a variety of ways to help you learn and teach.

Creating your own cases is easy.

:

Updating… Please wait.

 Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.

 Thank you for updating your details.