Non-Infectious Granulomatous Lung Disease: Imaging Findings with Pathologic Correlation

ABSTRACT

Non-infectious granulomatous lung disease represents a diverse group of disorders characterized by pulmonary opacities associated with granulomatous inflammation, a relatively nonspecific finding commonly encountered by pathologists. Some lesions may present a diagnostic challenge because of nonspecific imaging features; however, recognition of the various imaging manifestations of these disorders in conjunction with patients’ clinical history, such as age, symptom onset and duration, immune status, and presence of asthma or cutaneous lesions, is imperative for narrowing the differential diagnosis and determining appropriate management of this rare group of disorders. In this pictorial review, we describe the pathologic findings of various non-infectious granulomatous lung diseases as well as the radiologic features and high-resolution computed tomography imaging features.