HYDROSTATIC PULMONARY-EDEMA - HIGH-RESOLUTION CT FINDINGS - PICTORIALESSAY

Hydrostatic pulmonary edema can be defined as an abnormal increase in extravascular water secondary to elevated pressure in the pulmonary ci rculation, as in congestive heart failure or intravascular volume over load. The diagnosis of hydrostatic pulmonary edema is usually based on clinical information, conventional chest radiograph findings, and res ponse to treatment and does not require high-resolution CT. However, r ecognizing the appearance of hydrostatic pulmonary edema on high-resol ution CT can be important, as the edema can mimic other diseases or ca n occur as an unsuspected finding in patients having high-resolution C T for other indications, and a misdiagnosis may lead to unnecessary lu ng biopsy. Although the CT appearances of pulmonary edema have been de scribed in several studies [1-3], to date, the high-resolution CT appe arances of hydrostatic pulmonary edema have been described only in iso lated cases [4-6] or in experimental studies of phantom or animal mode ls [7, 8]. This essay illustrates the spectrum of high-resolution CT f indings seen in adult patients with hydrostatic pulmonary edema second ary to cardiac disease.