Lung abscess CT

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]

• 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]

Contrast CT demonstrating large cavity in the left lobe of lung

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