Author: Dr. Pepe

Dr. Pepe’s Diploma Casebook 152 – All you need to know to interpret a chest radiograph – Sixth Session – SOLVED

~ Dr. Pepe ~ 12 Comments

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the new year and a new webinar. The leading images of the webinar six belong to a 73-year-old woman with dyspnea and chest pain. What do you see?

Diagnosis:

1. Intrathoracic goiter
2. Dilated esophagus
3. Aortic aneurysm
4. Any of the above

If you would like to see the previous webinars, check it here!

Click here to see the answer

You can see the webinar here.

Findings: PA radiograph shows widening of the right superior mediastinum (A, arrow), which in the lateral view is located behind the trachea (B, arrows). The initial impression is of an upper middle mediastinal mass. The first diagnosis that come to mind is a goiter.

However, looking downward in the PA view, bulging of the azygo-esophageal line is evident (A, red arrow). In the lateral view there is opacification of the retrocardiac space (B, red arrow). Therefore, we are dealing with a lesion that extends along the middle mediastinum from top to bottom. The findings point to a dilated esophagus.

Esophagogram was unremarkable. Coronal and sagittal CT shows a cystic tubular mass extending along the posterior wall of the esophagus (C-D, arrows).

Final diagnosis: cystic lymphangioma of mediastinum
 
This is a difficult case and I didn’t expect you to make the diagnosis. But I believe that you should have noticed the bulging of the azygo-esophageal line in the PA view and the occupation of the retrocardiac space in the lateral view, suggesting a dilated esophagus as the most likely diagnosis.
 
Congratulations to MG who was the first to see the findings.
 
Teaching point: Remember that an opacity that goes from top to bottom in the middle mediastinum should suggest a dilated esophagus or an esophagus-related process

Cáceres’ Corner Case 218 – SOLVED

~ Dr. Pepe ~ 12 Comments

Dear Friends,

an easy case to celebrate the new year. PA radiograph of a 36-year-old woman with chest pain.

What do you see?

Click here to see the answer

Findings: PA chest radiograph shows a fracture of the right clavicle (A, arrow). A magnified view of the area raises the possibility of a lytic lesion (B, arrow).

Specific low-Kv images of the clavicle were taken, showing a rounded permeative lesion with a pathological fracture (C, arrow. D, circle). No other lesions were demonstrated in a bone scan. Biopsy followed by surgery came back as chondrosarcoma.

Final diagnosis: chondrosarcoma of clavicle with pathological fracture
 
Congratulations to Archanareddyt, who discovered the pathological fracture
 
Teaching point: when evaluating bone lesions of the chest, take specific views. They allow a better interpretation of the pathologic changes

Cáceres’ Corner Case 217 – SOLVED

~ Dr. Pepe ~ 15 Comments

Dear Friends,

I am showing today PA chest radiographs in two asymptomatic patients They have subtle findings that can be discovered if you paid attention to the previous webinars.

What do you see?

Prof. Cáceres will take some well-deserved holidays and will come back on January 6th with new cases!

Click here to see the answer

Case 1 findings: PA radiograph shows a well-defined opacity behind the cardiac shadow (A, arrow), better seen in the cone-down view (B, arrow). It has an extrapulmonary appearance and the best option is diaphragmatic hernia.

Coronal and sagittal CT demonstrate herniated abdominal fat through a rent in the posterior diaphragm (C-D, arrows).
 
Final diagnosis:Bochdaleck hernia

Case 1 has been diagnosed by most of you. Congratulations to Archanareddyt,
who was the first. Hope my recommendations in Webinar 4 were helpful!


REMEMBER

In the cardiac area look for:

* Opacities behind the left heart
* Double contour on the right

Case 2 findings: This patient has a faint but visible right infraclavicular nodule (A-B, arrows).

The nodule was overlooked and one year later had grown markedly (D, arrow). At surgery, a melanoma was found.
 
Final diagnosis: melanoma of the lung, missed in the initial examination

Teaching point: This is a difficult case, but easily diagnosed if you remember my oft-repeated mantra: “Search for pulmonary nodules in the pulmonary apices” (Webinar 1). Nobody saw the nodule and I feel useless (sniff).

Dr. Pepe’s Diploma Casebook 151 – All you need to know to interpret a chest radiograph – Fifth Session – SOLVED!

~ Dr. Pepe ~ 17 Comments

Dear Friends,

Showing today the leading case of the next webinar. PA radiograph belongs to an 86-year-old woman with chest pain.
What do you see?

More images will be shown on Wednesday. You can refresh your memory viewing the older webinars on our youtube channel.

Dear Friends, showing today a lateral film of the case. Hope it helps.

Click here to see the lateral film

Click here to see the answer

Findings: PA radiograph shows a faint opacity in the left mid-lung field (A, arrow), better seen in the cone down view (B, arrow). The opacity is ill-defined, and my first impression would be an intrapulmonary lesion.

The lateral view shows that the opacity is located in the posterior chest wall. It has a typical pregnancy sign (C, arrow), indicating an extrapulmonary origin.
Enhanced axial CT confirms a low-density chest wall mass (D, arrow). Note the anterior displacement of the intercostal vessel (D, red arrow).

Final diagnosis: lymphoma of chest wall
 
Congratulations to all of you who diagnosed a chest wall lesion. Special mention to MK, who was the first to give the answer.
 
Teaching point: This case documents the importance of the lateral chest to clarify indeterminate findings in the PA radiograph.

Check the full webinar here

Cáceres’ Corner Case 216 – SOLVED!

~ Dr. Pepe ~ 12 Comments

Dear Friends,

Today I am showing another case provided by my friend Dr. López Moreno. Radiographs belong to a 25-year-old woman with fainting spells. 

What do you see?

More images will be shown on Wednesday.

Dear Friends,

Showing coronal and sagittal images of enhanced CT.
What do you see?

Click here to see more images

Click here to see the answer

Findings: PA radiograph shows convexity of the aorto-pulmonary window (A, arrow) which is encroaching upon the left hilum. Aside from a discrete pectus excavatum, I don’t see any significant findings in the lateral view (B).

According to Diploma 144, the main causes of a prominent A-P window are either enlarged lymph nodes or an arterial aneurysm and a CT should be obtained. In this particular patient coronal enhanced CT shows an aortic aneurysm projecting over the A-P window (C, arrow) and located anterior to the aortic arch in the sagittal projection (D, arrow).

The appearance is compatible with traumatic pseudoaneurysm, but the patient did not have any antecedent of traumatism. In our opinion (Dr López Moreno and mine) we believe that it represents a ductus aneurysm because of the location and the thin band joining the aneurysm and the pulmonary artery (E, circle). The pinpoint calcification in the middle of the band may be calcium in the ductus ligament or be secondary to partial-volume effect.

An unexpected finding is the compression of the left main bronchus by the aneurysm (E-F, arrows). It would have been interesting to perform expiration films to detect air-trapping of the left lung.

Some of you have mentioned Kommerel diverticulum. This malformation is located posteriorly and occurs in aberrant subclavian artery, which courses behind the trachea and pushes it forward in the lateral chest radiograph. You can see examples in case 213 of Caceres’ corner and Diploma cases 2, 9 and 84.
 
Final diagnosis: Probable aneurysm of the ductus arteriosus
 
Congratulations to S who was the first to think of the ductus in the plain film and made the diagnosis of ductus diverticulum after CT.
 
Teaching point: this is my first ductus aneurysm (if we are right) and I cannot have much to say. Perhaps to stress again the importance of looking at the aorto-pulmonary window in the PA radiograph.

Dr. Pepe’s Diploma Casebook 150 – All you need to know to interpret a chest radiograph – Fourth Session

~ Dr. Pepe ~ 5 Comments

Dear Friends,

Presenting today the leading case of the next webinar. PA radiograph of a 58-year-old woman with cough and fever.

What do you see?

The answer will be published on Friday. While you wait, you can check the first three webinars, check the EBR youtube channel!

Click here to see the image

Click here to see the answer

Findings: PA chest radiograph shows an ill-defined opacity behind the right hemidiaphragm (A, red arrows), better seen in the cone-down view (B, red arrows). The fact that the opacity is visible indicates that it is surrounded by air, placing it in the right lower lobe.

A lateral view confirms air-space disease in the RLL (C, circle), blurring the posterior aspect of the right hemidiaphragm.

Final diagnosis: RLL pneumonia
 
Congratulations to archanareddyt who was the first to see the opacity and to MK who saw it and suggested the right diagnosis.
 
Teaching point: Remember that in the PA view the lower lobes go deep behind the diaphragm. Pulmonary disease of any kind can be seen in the upper quadrants of the abdomen, as demonstrated by the present case.

Remember to check the webinar published on the EBR youtube channel!

Cáceres’ Corner Case 215 – SOLVED

~ Dr. Pepe ~ 9 Comments

Dear Friends,

Today’s case has been provided by my good friend and former resident Victor Pineda. Radiographs belong to a 56-year-old man with cough and fever.
What do you see?

More images will be shown on Wednesday!

Click here to see the images shown on Monday

Dear friends hope these new images help you with the diagnosis.

Click here to see more images

Click here to see the answer

Findings: PA chest radiograph shows a large paramediastinal lung opacity (A, arrow) that at first glance suggest malignancy. The clue to the diagnosis lies in identifying multiple bronchiectasis in the right and left central lung fields (A, circles).

The lateral view confirms the opacity in the posterior segment of the RUL (B, arrow) and bronchiectasis in the anterior clear space (B, circle).

Central bronchiectasis accompanied by lung opacities are typical of diseases with thick tenacious mucus and are the hallmark of cystic fibrosis o allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Coronal and axial CT confirm the presence of numerous central bronchiectasis, one of them with a large mucous impaction (C and D, arrows).

In the mediastinal window the impacted mucus is increased in density (E and F, arrows), which is a pathognomonic sign of ABPA.

Final diagnosis: ABPA with central bronchiectasis and dense pulmonary impaction
 
Congratulations to MG who was the first to answer and made a valiant effort to diagnose a difficult case.
 
Teaching point: this case looks difficult, but the diagnosis is easy if we identify basic findings. Discovering central bronchiectasis narrows the diagnosis to two entities and CT confirms one of them.