ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Round pneumonia is a condition usually described in children, with few reports addressing adult patients. It is an oval-shaped consolidation that, due to its radiological appearance, simulates bronchogenic carcinoma. Its evolution tends to be benign, although diagnostic dilemmas have sometimes required exploratory thoracotomy. Deaths caused by this condition have even been reported. To the best of our knowledge, there have been 31 previous cases of round pneumonia in adults reported in the English and Portuguese-language literature, of which only one was completely asymptomatic. CASE REPORT: The case of a 54-year-old female patient presenting a lung mass found on routine imaging evaluation is reported. Respiratory symptoms and signs were absent, but the patient had a significant history of smoking. Her physical examination gave normal results. On chest radiographs, a mass located in the middle third of the right lung was observed. Three weeks after the initial evaluation, the patient was admitted for a complete evaluation and for staging of a pulmonary malignancy, but repeated chest radiographs showed complete resolution.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Bronchogenic/diagnostic imaging , Lung Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Pneumonia/diagnostic imaging , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , RadiographyABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Round pneumonia is a condition usually described in children, with few reports addressing adult patients. It is an oval-shaped consolidation that, due to its radiological appearance, simulates bronchogenic carcinoma. Its evolution tends to be benign, although diagnostic dilemmas have sometimes required exploratory thoracotomy. Deaths caused by this condition have even been reported. To the best of our knowledge, there have been 31 previous cases of round pneumonia in adults reported in the English and Portuguese-language literature, of which only one was completely asymptomatic. CASE REPORT: The case of a 54-year-old female patient presenting a lung mass found on routine imaging evaluation is reported. Respiratory symptoms and signs were absent, but the patient had a significant history of smoking. Her physical examination gave normal results. On chest radiographs, a mass located in the middle third of the right lung was observed. Three weeks after the initial evaluation, the patient was admitted for a complete evaluation and for staging of a pulmonary malignancy, but repeated chest radiographs showed complete resolution.
CONTEXTO: A pneumonia redonda é uma condição encontrada normalmente em crianças, sendo que relatos envolvendo adultos são raros. Ela é definida como uma consolidação pulmonar ovalada que, pelo aspecto radiográfico, simula o carcinoma broncogênico. Sua evolução tende a ser benigna, entretanto, dificuldades diagnósticas demandando toracotomia exploradora e até mesmo óbitos têm sido descritos. Em revisão de literatura de língua inglesa e portuguesa, foram encontrados somente 31 casos relatados, com apenas um único caso de paciente com apresentação assintomática. RELATO DE CASO: Os autores relatam o caso de uma paciente de 54 anos com achado de massa pulmonar em exame radiológico de rotina. A paciente negava sinais e sintomas respiratórios, entretanto referia uma importante história de tabagismo. No exame físico, nada digno de nota. Na radiografia de tórax se observava uma lesão arredondada no terço médio do pulmão direito. Três semanas após a avaliação inicial, a paciente foi internada para completar a avaliação e estadiamento de uma possível neoplasia pulmonar, entretanto, o raio-x da entrada mostrou completa resolução do processo.
