Asthma

Clinical presentation:

11 year old boy who presented in E.R. with difficulty breathing.

The Image

Features in Image

The lungs are large volume. There is some perihilar linear shadowing. The right lower lobe bronchus has an additional adjacent lucency and a line shadow, a subway line appearance. Further tramline shadows are present in the left upper lobe. There is no consolidation or eosinophilia.

General Features in Asthma

The radiograph may be normal or show hyperinflation. Areas of segmental and subsegmental atelectasis may occur due to mucus plugging or smooth muscle hypertrophy. Central bronchial wall thickening is common. Radiographs are helpful to exclude an acute abnormality such as pneumonia or pneumothorax.

Diagnosis

Asthma.

No, really?

Back to Case 7: Tuberculosis

Forward to Case 9: Neoplasm

Return to Radiology for Medical Students Index

This page hosted by Get your own Free Homepage
1