Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia CT
Introduction
Overview
Overview
A chest CT scan is not routinely done in patients with pneumonia, but is a diagnostic test that may be useful when a chest x-ray is not conclusive. CT findings may include lobar consolidation, ground-glass opacities, pleural effusion, lymphadenopathy, and tree-in-bud appereance.
CT
CT
- A chest CT could be useful when a chest x-ray has inconclusive signs of pneumonia but the clinical manifestation suggest pneumonia.
- CT findings in pneumonia include:[1]
- Airspace consolidation
- Ground-glass opacities
- Pleural effusion
- Hilar and/or mediastinal lymphadenopathy
- Bronchiectasis
- Tree-in-bud appereance
- A chest CT can also help to assess reasons for therapy failure and complications, such as lung abscess, and pleural effusions.
 |
Comparison Between CT Findings in Viral and Bacterial Pneumonia
| CT Finding | Bacterial | Viral |
|---|---|---|
| No findings | 9% | 33% |
| Focal Consolidation | 9% | 6% |
| Pleural Effusion | 41% | 22% |
| Ground-glass Opacity | 45% | 22% |
| Tree-in-bud Appereance | 14% | 31% |
| Bronchial Wall Thickening | 27% | 31% |
| Multifocal Consolidation | 36% | 27% |
| Adapted from American Journal of Roentgenology. 2011;197: 1088-1095[2] | ||
References
References
- ↑ Ichikado, Kazuya (2014). “High-Resolution Computed Tomography Findings of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Acute Interstitial Pneumonia, and Acute Exacerbation of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis”. Seminars in Ultrasound, CT and MRI. 35 (1): 39–46. doi:10.1053/j.sult.2013.10.007. ISSN 0887-2171.
- ↑ Miller, Wallace T.; Mickus, Timothy J.; Barbosa, Eduardo; Mullin, Christopher; Van Deerlin, Vivanna M.; Shiley, Kevin T. (2011). “CT of Viral Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Adults: Comparison Among Viral Organisms and Between Viral and Bacterial Infections”. American Journal of Roentgenology. 197 (5): 1088–1095. doi:10.2214/AJR.11.6501. ISSN 0361-803X.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Hamid Qazi, MD, BSc [2], Alejandro Lemor, M.D. [3]