Lung abscess

Case contributed by Stefan Tigges
Diagnosis almost certain

Presentation

Fever and cough.

Patient Data

Age: 60 years
Gender: Male
x-ray

Scout image from CT chest shows a right lower lobe soft tissue mass and a small right pleural effusion.

ct

A large cavitary lesion in right lower lobe with an air-fluid level. The lesion abuts the chest wall at an acute angle. Small right pleural effusion.

Drawing: abscess vs. empyema

Diagram

Visual explanation for abscess vs. empyema.

Case Discussion

This is a nice example of a lung abscess abutting the chest wall. You can tell that it's not an empyema because it forms an acute angle with the adjacent chest wall; an empyema forms an obtuse angle.

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