PULMONARY VENOOCCLUSIVE DISEASE - CT FINDINGS IN 8 PATIENTS

OBJECTIVE. The objective of the study was to describe the CT findings of pulmonary venoocclusive disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Eight patie nts with CT scans of the thorax and a diagnosis of pulmonary venoocclu sive disease were identified from three institutions. The six males an d two females had a mean age of 32 years old (range, 5-58 years old). All scans were evaluated with consensus reading by two chest radiologi sts. Lung parenchyma were assessed for the type and distribution of di sease. Bronchi, pleura, hila, mediastina, and chest walls were evaluat ed for abnormalities. Pathologic specimens from five patients were rev iewed and specifically correlated with the radiologic findings. RESULT S. Seven of the eight patients had interlobular septal thickening. All eight patients had regions of ground-glass opacity. Four of the eight patients had a mosaic pattern of lung attenuation. No enlarged hilar or mediastinal nodes were revealed. Five patients had bilateral pleura l effusions. CONCLUSION. The most common CT findings in these eight pa tients with pulmonary venoocclusive disease were smooth interlobular s eptal thickening, diffuse multifocal regions of ground-glass opacity, pleural effusions, enlarged central pulmonary arteries, and pulmonary veins of normal caliber. Four patients had a mosaic pattern of lung at tenuation on the CT scans. These findings are highly suggestive of pul monary venoocclusive disease and may be helpful in difficult cases. De finitive diagnosis requires lung biopsy.