March 2024 Medical Image of the Month: Sputum Cytology in Patients with Suspected Lung Malignancy Presenting with Acute Hypoxic Respiratory Failure

By: Ali A

Abstract:

No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. A 71-year-old woman presented with right-sided mass-like consolidation and pleural effusion on CT (Figure 1A), discovered incidentally after placement of a drug-eluting stent for coronary artery disease. The patient had a medical history significant for COPD, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and coronary artery disease, status post a recent drug-eluting stent (less than 1 month ago). The patient received a presumptive diagnosis of pneumonia with parapneumonic effusion. Findings persisted despite multiple courses of empiric antibiotic therapy. She then underwent thoracentesis; pleural fluid was exudative; however, cytology was inconclusive. An FDG PET-CT (Figure 1B) revealed hypermetabolic activity in the right lower lobe with radiotracer activity up to 7.7 SUV concerning for malignancy. Diagnostic bronchoscopy was planned; however, her condition deteriorated suddenly the day before her planned procedure. EMS found the patient to be severely hypoxic, SpO2 in the 70s. Patient was taken by ambulance to the local emergency room.

Upon arrival, the patient was …

URL: https://www.swjpcc.com/imaging/2024/3/2/march-2024-medical-image-of-the-month-sputum-cytology-in-pat.html