Correct!
5. All of the above

The basal opacities on the chest radiograph are very non-specific as regards their potential etiology. The opacities are consistent with consolidation, and therefore virtually any air-space filling process requires consideration. The most common etiology for such opacities is infection- bronchopneumonia- but the basal location renders aspiration pneumonia and idiopathic interstitial pneumonias legitimate considerations as well. Pulmonary hemorrhage could appear similarly also.
The patient underwent thoracic CT (Figure 2) for further characterization of the abnormalities seen at chest radiography.

Figure 2. Axial thoracic CT shown in soft tissue windows (A-F, upper left) and lung windows (G-J, upper right). Movies of the axial CT soft tissue windows (lower left) and the lung windows (lower right). [Editor's note: the files for the movies are large and may take some time to download from the server.]

Which of the following statements regarding this CT examination is most accurate?

1. The thoracic CT shows bilateral basal consolidation and nodules, suggesting aspiration pneumonia and bronchiolitis
2. The thoracic CT shows bilateral basal ground-glass opacity and reticulation, suggesting non-infectious alveolitis with fibrosis
3. The thoracic CT shows bilateral basal high attenuation pulmonary parenchymal opacification, suggesting amiodarone pulmonary toxicity
4. The thoracic CT shows bilateral basal low attenuation consistent with pulmonary parenchymal fat
5. The thoracic CT shows non-specific bilateral basal consolidation and adds little to what is already known from chest radiography

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