Differential diagnosis of cystic and nodular lung diseases

Abstract

Cystic and nodular lung diseases encompass abroad spectrum of diseases with different etiologies and clinicoradiological presentations. Their differentiation is crucial for patient management but can be complex due to diseases with features of both categories and overlapping radiological patterns. This study aims to describe the imaging features of cystic and nodular lung diseases in high-resolution computed tomography (CT) in detail-primarily based on their etiology-in order to allow amore accurate differential diagnosis of these diseases. Anarrative review based on current literature on the topic was conducted from aclinicoradiological perspective. This paper systematically categorizes the differential diagnosis of cystic and nodular lung disease and provides insights into their radiological patterns and etiologies. It highlights the role of CT in the diagnosis of these diseases and emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary panels combining expertise from radiology, pulmonology, rheumatology, and pathology. Reliable differential diagnosis of cystic and nodular lung diseases, particularly based on their radiological features alone, remains difficult due to their overlapping and dynamic nature. Multidisciplinary boards should be the clinical standard for accurate work-up of these diseases, as they combine the medical history, symptoms, radiological findings, and, if necessary, histopathological examinations, thus providing amore robust framework for diagnosis and management.