Solitary pulmonary nodule causes

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Maria Fernanda Villarreal, M.D. [2] Luke Rusowicz-Orazem, B.S.

Overview

Common causes of solitary pulmonary nodule include tuberculosis, primary lung cancer, granulomas, and rheumatic disease. Solitary pulmonary nodules can be life-threatening if they are malignant neoplasms, cardiopulmonary diseases and infection, requiring prompt diagnosis and differentiation from benign etiologies.

Causes

Life Threatening Causes

Common Causes

Common malignant causes of pulmonary nodule include:^[1]

Primary lung cancer

Common benign causes of pulmonary nodule include:^[2]

Inflammatory

Immunological

Vascular

Miscellaneous

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	Arteriovenous malformation, localized infarction, pulmonary arterio-venous malformation, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary infarction, varicose pulmonary vein, vascular
Chemical/Poisoning	No underlying causes
Dental	No underlying causes
Dermatologic	No underlying causes
Drug Side Effect	No underlying causes
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	Thyroid cancer
Environmental	Black lung disease
Gastroenterologic	Gastric cancer
Genetic	No underlying causes
Hematologic	Aneurysm of the pulmonary artery, hemangioma, hematoma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, pulmonary hamartoma
Iatrogenic	No underlying causes
Infectious Disease	Adiaspiromycosis, Aspergilloma, Aspergillosis, berylliosis, Blastomycosis, bronchogenic carcinoma, bronchogenic cyst, Coccidioidomycosis, Cryptococcosis, Dirofilariasis, Echinococcus granulosus, endometriosis, fungal infection, histoplasmosis, hydatid cyst, Hystiocytosis X, lipoid pneumonia, lung abscess, lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, nocardiosis, parasite infection, pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, pneumonia, pulmonary abscess, round pneumonia, tuberculosis
Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic	Multiple myeloma
Neurologic	Aneurysm of the pulmonary artery, arteriovenous malformation, neurofibroma, neurogenic tumor
Nutritional/Metabolic	No underlying causes
Obstetric/Gynecologic	Breast cancer
Oncologic	Adenocarcinoma, blastoma, bronchial adenoma, cancers, carcinoid tumor, chondroma, fibroma, gastric cancer, granuloma, hamartoma, hamartomatosis, hemangioma, hypernephroma, large cell lung carcinoma, lung metastases, lymphoma, metastasis, multiple myeloma, neurofibroma, neurogenic tumor, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, non-small cell lung cancer, primary lung cancer, prostate cancer, pulmonary inflammatory pseudotumor, pulmonary sarcoma, pulmonary sequestration, sarcoma, seminoma, small cell lung cancer, solitary metastasis, squamous cell carcinoma, thyroid cancer
Ophthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose/Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	No underlying causes
Pulmonary	Black lung disease, bronchial adenoma, bronchial atresia, bronchogenic carcinoma, bronchogenic cyst, Churg-Strauss syndrome, Hydatid cyst, lipoid pneumonia, localized scar, localized pleural effusion, lung abscess, lung cavity, lung metastases, mucoid impaction, non-small cell lung cancer, pleural plaque, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, pneumonia, primary lung cancer, pulmonary abscess, pulmonary arterio-venous malformation, pulmonary embolism, pulmonary hamartoma, pulmonary infarction, pulmonary inflammatory pseudotumor, pulmonary sarcoma, pulmonary sequestration, round pneumonia, rounded atelectasis, sarcoidosis, sequestration, small cell lung cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, tuberculosis, varicose pulmonary vein, Wegener’s granulomatosis
Renal/Electrolyte	Hypernephroma
Rheumatology/Immunology/Allergy	Amyloidosis, Churg-Strauss syndrome, fibroma, granuloma, immunological, progressive massive fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid disease, rheumatoid nodule, sarcoidosis, Wegener’s granulomatosis
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	Foreign body, localized scar, lung cavity, rounded atelectasis
Urologic	Prostate cancer
Miscellaneous	No underlying causes

Causes in Alphabetical Order

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References

↑ Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002: 306-307 ISBN 1591032016
↑ Lillington GA (1991). “Management of solitary pulmonary nodules”. Dis Mon. 37 (5): 271–318. PMID 2019220.

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[DDX-1] Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002: 306-307 ISBN 1591032016

[pmid2019220-2] Lillington GA (1991). “Management of solitary pulmonary nodules”. Dis Mon. 37 (5): 271–318. PMID 2019220.

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