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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.

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Lung abscess CT

Introduction

Overview

Overview

CT is helpful in differentiating the cavitation of abscess that cannot be clearly delineated on the chest radiograph from empyema and other cavitary lesions.[1]

CT Scan

CT Scan

  • On CT scan lung abscess is visualized as a rounded radiolucent lesion with a thick wall and ill-defined irregular margins, and is located within the parenchyma compared with loculated empyema, which may be difficult to distinguish on chest radiographs. [2]
  • Computed tomography (CT) lung is considered as the gold standard not only for the diagnosis of lung abscess but also for guiding therapeutic procedures such as trans-thoracic drainage of localized lung abscess .[3]
  • CT scan is very helpful in excluding endobronchial obstruction due to malignancy or foreign body and provides additional information about size and location of the abscess.[4]

Lung abscess
Contrast CT demonstrating large cavity in the left lobe of lung

Reference

Reference

  1. ↑ Stark DD, Federle MP, Goodman PC, Podrasky AE, Webb WR (1983). “Differentiating lung abscess and empyema: radiography and computed tomography”. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 141 (1): 163–7. doi:10.2214/ajr.141.1.163. PMID 6602513.
  2. ↑ Mayer, Thom (1982). “Computed Tomographic Findings of Neonatal Lung Abscess”. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 136 (1): 39. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1982.03970370041010. ISSN 1072-4710.
  3. ↑ Bouhemad, Bélaïd; Zhang, Mao; Lu, Qin; Rouby, Jean-Jacques (2007). Critical Care. 11 (1): 205. doi:10.1186/cc5668. ISSN 1364-8535. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ Case courtesy of A.Prof Frank Gaillard, <a href=”https://radiopaedia.org/“>Radiopaedia.org</a>. From the case <a href=”https://radiopaedia.org/cases/15517“>rID: 15517</a>


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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]