Items tagged “infectiousdisease”

Acute mastoiditis refers to a suppurative infection of the mastoid air cells. It is the most common complication of acute otitis media. Terminology In acute otitis media, an inflammatory middle ear effusion is present that can freely move into the mastoid air cells. Consequently, some authors ...

An air crescent sign describes the crescent of air that can be seen in invasive aspergillosis, semi-invasive aspergillosis, or other processes that cause pulmonary necrosis. It usually heralds recovery and is the result of increased granulocyte activity. Terminology It should not be confused w...

Bat wing opacities, also known as butterfly opacities, refer to a pattern of bilateral perihilar lung shadowing. It is classically described on a frontal chest radiograph but can also refer to appearances on chest CT 3,4. Differential diagnosis Bat wing pulmonary opacities can be caused by: ...

Chronic unilateral airspace opacification is a subset of the differential diagnoses for airspace opacification. An exhaustive list of all possible causes of chronic unilateral airspace opacities is long, but a useful framework is as follows: neoplastic post obstructive lymphoma lymphocytic ...

Eosinophilic lung diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders that are characterized by excess infiltration of eosinophils within the lung interstitium and alveoli and are broadly divided into three main groups 1: idiopathic: unknown causes secondary: known causes eosinophilic va...

Ground-glass opacification/opacity (GGO) is a descriptive term referring to an area of increased attenuation in the lung on computed tomography (CT) with preserved bronchial and vascular markings. It is a non-specific sign with a wide etiology including infection, chronic interstitial disease an...

Varicella pneumonia is a type of viral pneumonia. It is a common cause of multiple small round calcific lung lesions. Varicella-zoster virus most commonly causes self-limited benign disease (chickenpox) in children. However, in adults it tends to cause significant complications including varicel...

The idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) are diffuse interstitial lung diseases of unknown cause. They are characterized by cellular infiltration of the interstitial compartment of the lung with varying degrees of inflammation and fibrosis. Classification Over the years many attempts have...

Septal lines, or Kerley lines, are seen when the interlobular septa in the pulmonary interstitium become prominent. It may be because of lymphatic engorgement or edema of the connective tissues of the interlobular septa. They usually occur when pulmonary capillary wedge pressure reaches 20-25 mm...

The term miliary opacities refers to innumerable, small 1-4 mm pulmonary nodules scattered throughout the lungs. It is useful to divide these patients into those who are febrile and those who are not. Additionally, some miliary opacities are very dense, narrowing the differential - see multiple...

Neuroblastomas are tumors of neuroblastic origin. Although they may occur anywhere along the sympathetic chain, the vast majority arise from the adrenal gland. They represent the most common extracranial solid childhood malignancy and are the third commonest childhood tumor after leukemia and b...

Otomastoiditis, or more simply inflammation of the mastoid air cells, can be divided into two distinct entities: acute otomastoiditis: usually due to bacterial infection chronic otomastoiditis: usually due to Eustachian tube dysfunction

Pulmonary sequestration, also called accessory lung, refers to the aberrant formation of segmental lung tissue that has no connection with the bronchial tree or pulmonary arteries. It is a bronchopulmonary foregut malformation (BPFM). There are two types: intralobar sequestration (ILS) extral...

Hepatic abscesses, like abscesses elsewhere, are localized collections of necrotic inflammatory tissue caused by bacterial, parasitic, or fungal agents.  Epidemiology The frequency of individual infective agents as causes of liver abscesses are intimately linked to the demographics of the affe...

Reverse bat wing pulmonary opacities refer to peripheral opacities of the lungs, sparing the perihilar region. It is a relatively unusual appearance with a fairly narrow differential 1: chronic eosinophilic pneumonia organizing pneumonia (formerly bronchiolitis obliterans with organizin...

Pneumothorax, commonly abbreviated to PTX, (plural: pneumothoraces) refers to the presence of gas (often air) in the pleural space. When this collection of gas constantly enlarges with resulting compression of mediastinal structures, it can be life-threatening and is known as a tension pneumotho...

Spondylodiscitis, (rare plural: spondylodiscitides) also referred to as discitis-osteomyelitis, is characterized by infection involving the intervertebral disc and adjacent vertebrae. Terminology In adults, the use of the term discitis is generally discouraged as isolated infection of the spin...

There are many causes of interlobular septal thickening, and this should be distinguished from intralobular septal thickening. Thickening of the interlobular septa can be smooth, nodular or irregular, with many entities able to cause more than one pattern. Pathology Causes of septal thickening...