Correct!
5. All of the above
All of the aforementioned entities may present on thoracic CT with multifocal ground-glass opacities, on occasion largely unassociated with other abnormalities (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Various pulmonary disorders presenting with multifocal ground-glass opacity. Panel A: hypersensitivity pneumonitis; Panel B: lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia; Panel C: diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus; Panel D: hydrostatic pulmonary edema.
Hydrostatic pulmonary edema often will manifest with additional findings, such as bronchial wall thickening, pleural effusion, and interlobular septal thickening, but need not present in this fashion in every case; furthermore, the patient’s cardiac abnormalities shown at echocardiography raise this possibility.
Which of the following is the next most appropriate step for the patient’s condition given the data thus far? (Click on the correct answer to proceed to the fifth and last panel)