Correct!
1. The chest radiograph shows bilateral linear and reticular abnormalities
The chest radiograph shows bilateral, perihilar predominant linear and reticular (“net-like”) opacities, creating a ground-glass appearance. The lung volumes are preserved and no hilar or mediastinal lymph node enlargement is evident. The mediastinal contours appear normal for age. The abnormal pulmonary opacities do create the appearance of “interstitial thickening”, but the morphology of this thickening is not nodular. The chest radiographic appearance is best described as a linear and/or reticular pattern, not a nodular pattern.
Clinical Course: The patient’s oxygen saturation on room air was noted to range from 83% to 86%. The physical examination was unrevealing- no abnormalities were noted on lung auscultation and no jugular venous distension or pedal edema was present. The patient subsequently underwent thoracic CT (Figure 2) for further characterization of the pulmonary abnormalities seen at chest radiography.
Figure 2. Representative images from the patient’s thoracic CT scan.
Regarding the thoracic CT, which of the following statements is most accurate?