Pneumonia chest x ray

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Editor(s)-in-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-632-7753; Philip Marcus, M.D., M.P.H.[2]

Overview

Pneumonia as seen on chest x-ray. A: Normal chest x-ray. B: Abnormal chest x-ray with shadowing from pneumonia in the right lung (white area, left side of image). An important test for pneumonia in unclear situations is a chest x-ray. Chest x-rays can reveal areas of opacity (seen as white) which represent consolidation. Pneumonia is not always seen on x-rays, either because the disease is only in its initial stages, or because it involves a part of the lung not easily seen by x-ray.

In some cases, chest CT (computed tomography) can reveal pneumonia that is not seen on chest x-ray.

X-rays can be misleading, because other problems, like lung scarring and congestive heart failure, can mimic pneumonia on x-ray.[1] Chest x-rays are also used to evaluate for complications of pneumonia. (See below.)

If a person is not getting better with antibiotics, or if the health care provider has concerns about the diagnosis, a cultureof the person's sputum may be requested.

Imaging

  • X-rays of the chest (reveal areas of opacity). A normal chest x-ray makes CAP less likely; however, CAP is sometimes not seen on x-rays because the disease is either in its initial stages or involves a part of the lung not easily seen by x-ray.
  • Computed tomography in situations of diagnostic dilema.

References

  1. Syrjala H, Broas M, Suramo I, et al. High resolution computed tomography for the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia. Clin Infect Dis 1998; 27:358-363 PMID 9709887

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