Chest CT Signs in Pulmonary Disease

CT scanning of the chest is one of the most important imaging modalities available to a pulmonologist. The advent of high-resolution CT scanning of the chest has led to its increasing use. Although chest radiographs are still useful as an initial test, their utility is limited in the diagnosis of lung diseases that depend on higher resolution images such as interstitial lung diseases and pulmonary vascular diseases. Several metaphoric chest CT scan signs have been described linking abnormal imaging patterns to lung diseases. Some of these are specific to a disease, whereas others help narrow the differential diagnosis. Recognizing these imaging patterns and CT scan signs are thus vitally important. In the present article, we describe a comprehensive list of the commonly encountered metaphoric chest CT scan signs and their clinical relevance. CT scanning of the chest is one of the most important imaging modalities available to a pulmonologist. The advent of high-resolution CT scanning of the chest has led to its increasing use. Although chest radiographs are still useful as an initial test, their utility is limited in the diagnosis of lung diseases that depend on higher resolution images such as interstitial lung diseases and pulmonary vascular diseases. Several metaphoric chest CT scan signs have been described linking abnormal imaging patterns to lung diseases. Some of these are specific to a disease, whereas others help narrow the differential diagnosis. Recognizing these imaging patterns and CT scan signs are thus vitally important. In the present article, we describe a comprehensive list of the commonly encountered metaphoric chest CT scan signs and their clinical relevance. Chest CT Scan Signs: A Few Noteworthy AdditionsCHESTVol. 153Issue 6PreviewWe read with great interest the article by Raju et al1 in the June 2017 issue of CHEST and would like to heartily congratulate the authors for compiling together a comprehensive list of “metaphoric” CT scan lung signs with vivid illustrations. Recognition of tell-tale CT scan signs—which the authors have elucidated at great length—is crucial to zone in on the correct diagnosis. We would like to add to the exhaustive list described by the authors, as enumerated in Table 1.2-4 Getting acquainted with the ever-increasing number of such signs will certainly assist in better interpretation of CT lung imaging. Full-Text PDF