Diagnosis Of Ground-glass Opacities Research Articles

Crack lung: a difficult differential diagnosis of ground glass opacities in the emergency setting

BackgroundThe term 'Crack lung' refers to an acute syndrome of diffuse alveolar damage and hemorrhagic alveolitis that occurs within 48 hours of smoking freebase cocaine. Crack lung induces a variety of pulmonary complications, both acute and chronic, including pulmonary edema, alveolar hemorrhage, eosinophilic pneumonia, pneumothorax, and pulmonary thromboembolism. Ischaemia of pneumocytes because of crack use is induced by the following phenomena: thermal damage to the airways, direct toxicity, inflammatory damage, barotrauma and vasospasm. Diffuse alveolar damage and alveolar hemorrhage with eosinophilic cell infiltration and IgE deposits are found in the lung tissue.PurposeWe present two clinical cases of patients admitted to the emergency department of our university hospital with respiratory failure. HRCT scans showed bilaterally, subpleural, and peri-hilar lung parenchyma, extensive areas of parenchymal ground-glass hyperdensity, crazy paving aspects, and relative sparing of the apices. The temporal relationship between the appearance of the bilateral opacities, the history documenting drug use, and the onset of hypoxemia suggests the diagnosis of "Crack lung".ConclusionsIt is important to include drug abuse and crack lung in the differential diagnosis of acute respiratory symptoms with ground-glass opacities, as they are not uncommon in emergency departments and may rapidly progress to ARDS. CT findings are not specific, but it is important to accurately collect anamnestic data and collaborate with the clinician to achieve a diagnosis and establish proper therapy.

Cone-Beam Computed Tomography-Guided Cryobiopsy Combined with Conventional Biopsy for Ground Glass Opacity-Predominant Pulmonary Nodules

Introduction: Cryobiopsy (CB) using a 1.1-mm cryoprobe under fluoroscopic guidance is feasible and safe for diagnosis of ground glass opacity (GGO) lesions. However, the efficacy of CB combined with cone-beam CT (CBCT) for GGO-predominant pulmonary nodules remains elusive. Methods: We retrospectively studied patients who underwent CB combined with conventional biopsy under CBCT guidance for GGO-predominant pulmonary nodules with a consolidation-to-tumour ratio <50.0%. Results: A total of 32 patients with GGO-predominant pulmonary nodules were enrolled: 17 pure GGOs and 15 mixed GGOs. The mean lesion diameter was 15.81 ± 5.52 mm and the overall diagnostic yield was 71.9%. Seven lesions were diagnosed by CB alone, which increased the diagnostic outcomes by 21.9%. Diagnostic yields for CB, forceps biopsy (FB), brushing, and guide sheath flushing were 65.6%, 46.9%, 15.6%, and 14.3%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that positive computed tomography (CT) bronchus sign (p = 0.035), positive CBCT sign (p < 0.01), and CB-first biopsy sequence (p = 0.036) were significant predictive factors for higher diagnostic yield. Specimens obtained by CB had larger mean sample size (p < 0.01), lower blood cell area (p < 0.01), and fewer crush artefacts (p < 0.01) than specimens from FB. No severe bleeding or other complications occurred. Conclusion: CB using a 1.1-mm cryoprobe under CBCT guidance increased diagnostic yield for GGO-predominant pulmonary nodules based on conventional biopsy. Further, it provided larger and nearly intact samples compared with forceps.

The role of High resolution multidetector computed tomography chest in the differential diagnosis of ground glass opacity in diffuse lung diseases

The role of High resolution multidetector computed tomography chest in the differential diagnosis of ground glass opacity in diffuse lung diseases

Comparison of Chest Computed Tomography Differential Diagnosis of Ground Glass Opacities in the COVID-19 Patients

Aim: To compare chest computed tomography (CT) diagnosis of ground glass opacities in the COVID-19 patients. Study design: Retrospective study. Place and duration of study: Department of Radiology, Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College Sukkur from 1st July 2020 to 31 August 2021. Methodology: Fifty patients on differential CT diagnosis of ground glass opacities seen in COVID 19 patients were enrolled. Thoracic CT images by applying auto exposure-control settings and ranges of scan were done. The noise-index was kept as 12.3. Using helical 16 slice Alexion CT-Toshiba. Keeping a comparison with viral infection CT images a list of 7 signs which were positive for Covid CT scan were recorded. Peripheral lesions meant any lesions which effects peripheral area up to 3 to 4 cm lung periphery with/without having central dispersal. A hazy-opacity was termed as ground glass. Results: Mean age of the patients was 49.1±10.2 years with 27 (54%) males and 23(46%) females. Mix ground glass opacitites and consolidation were also the features of the CT imaging in coronavirus posisitve cases. Man-Whitney test results showed that combined-CT scoring had a SE value as 0.044 with a confidence interval between 0.756-0.927. Comparing the differential CT values within COVID and non COVID patients based on RT PCR results it was observed that posterior region lower lobe involvement was a feature of COVID-19 patients while crazy paving pattern and peripheral distribution was also seen in corona patients. Conclusion: Present study highlights that chest CT helps in differentitaing corona virus from other causes of pneumonias and grond glass opacities. Key words: Chest CT; Differential diagnosis; COVID-19; Ground glass opacities (GGO)

Agreement between low-dose and ultra-low-dose chest CT for the diagnosis of viral pneumonia imaging patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundChest CT scan has an important role in the diagnosis and management of COVID-19 infection. A major concern in radiologic assessment of the patients is the radiation dose. Research has been done to evaluate low-dose chest CT in the diagnosis of pulmonary lesions with promising findings. We decided to determine diagnostic performance of ultra-low-dose chest CT in comparison to low-dose CT for viral pneumonia during the COVID-19 pandemic.Results167 patients underwent both low-dose and ultra-low-dose chest CT scans. Two radiologists blinded to the diagnosis independently examined ultra-low-dose chest CT scans for findings consistent with COVID-19 pneumonia. In case of any disagreement, a third senior radiologist made the final diagnosis. Agreement between two CT protocols regarding ground-glass opacity, consolidation, reticulation, and nodular infiltration were recorded. On low-dose chest CT, 44 patients had findings consistent with COVID-19 infection. Ultra-low-dose chest CT had sensitivity and specificity values of 100% and 98.4%, respectively for diagnosis of viral pneumonia. Two patients were falsely categorized to have pneumonia on ultra-low-dose CT scan. Positive predictive value and negative predictive value of ultra-low-dose CT scan were respectively 95.7% and 100%. There was good agreement between low-dose and ultra-low-dose methods (kappa = 0.97; P < 0.001). Perfect agreement between low-dose and ultra-low-dose scans was found regarding diagnosis of ground-glass opacity (kappa = 0.83, P < 0.001), consolidation (kappa = 0.88, P < 0.001), reticulation (kappa = 0.82, P < 0.001), and nodular infiltration (kappa = 0.87, P < 0.001).ConclusionUltra-low-dose chest CT scan is comparable to low-dose chest CT for detection of lung infiltration during the COVID-19 outbreak while maintaining less radiation dose. It can also be used instead of low-dose chest CT scan for patient triage in circumstances where rapid-abundant PCR tests are not available.

Computed Tomography-Guided Hookwire Localization for Ground-glass Opacity Dominant Pulmonary Nodules Before Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery: Analysis of 472 Lesions

Recent advances in imaging technique and the deterioration of environment have promoted increased detection of ground-glass opacities (GGOs). The aims of the present study were to evaluate the clinical efficiency and safety of CT-guided hookwire localization of GGO-dominant pulmonary nodules before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and to summarize the key points for differential diagnosis of GGOs. From April 2008 to December 2015, 472 solitary GGO-dominant (GGO component > 50%) pulmonary nodules localized by hookwire were retrospectively analyzed. They ranged from 2.9 to 29.8 mm and were successfully localized with mean duration of 8.1 ± 3.6 min. Postoperative complications were mild and included asymptomatic needle track hemorrhage (28.8%), minimal pneumothorax (8.9%), and haemoptysis (0.4%). All patients accepted VATS resection but one patient (0.2%) was converted to thoracotomy because of strong pleural adhesion. Histological results revealed 102 benign nodules and 370 primary pulmonary adenocarcinomas. The malignant rate of lesions with 50–90% GGO component common in T1bN0M0 and T1cN0M0 was higher than that of over 90% occurred more in T1aN0M0 (83.5% and 87.0% vs. 52.3%, P < 0.001). Besides, there were significant statistical differences between malignant and benign GGOs in terms of age, nodular size, percentage of GGO component, margin, spiculation, lobulation, and vascular convergence (P < 0.05). CT-guided hookwire location for GGO-dominant pulmonary nodules before VATS showed to have a great clinical value for diagnosis and treatment without serious complications. If a GGO-dominant nodule with larger size, 50–90% GGO component, irregular margin, spiculation, lobulation, and vascular convergence was detected in an elder patient, it might have a higher malignant tendency.