Pulmonary Vasculitis

This review summarizes the radiological manifestations of the vasculitides of proven or presumed immunologic origin in which the inflammatory reaction is directed primarily against the vessel wall. These include Wegener’s granulomatosis, Churg-Strauss syndrome, Takayasu’s arteritis, Behçet’s syndrome, Goodpasture’s syndrome, and microscopic polyangiitis. Chest radiography is used routinely in the initial evaluation and follow-up of these patients. The radiographic findings however are nonspecific and need to be interpreted together with the clinical findings. Computed tomography (CT) plays an increasingly important role in the assessment of patients with vasculitis and, in the proper clinical context, allows a confident diagnosis of some of these entities. Magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography play a limited role. The characteristic imaging manifestations of the various vasculitides are reviewed and illustrated.

KEYWORDS

Lung diseases - vasculitis - lung radiography - lung CT

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