What is the diagnosis? How would you confirm it?
Left upper lobe collapse. Lateral chest x-ray.
What are some of the indirect signs of atelectasis / collapse?
These relate to volume loss, such as elevation of the hemidiaphragm, crowding of the left sided ribs, shift of the mediastinum to the left.
What is the diagnosis which needs to be considered and excluded when presented with a lobar collapse in an adult?
A malignancy stenosing the relevant bronchus.
Chest x-ray demonstrates volume loss and increased density of the left hemithorax. The anterior mediastinal outlines and heart border are lost. The features are those of left upper lobe collapse.