Differential diagnosis on HRCT
Most of our knowledge about imaging findings in interstitial lung disease comes from HRCT.
On HRCT there are four patterns: reticular, nodular, high and low attenuation (table).
On a Chest X-Ray it can be very difficult to determine whether there is interstitial lung disease and what kind of pattern we are dealing with.
On a CXR the most common pattern is reticular.
The ground-glass pattern is frequently not detected on a chest x-ray.
The cystic pattern is also difficult to appreciate on a cest x-ray.
When the cysts have thick walls like in Langerhans cell histiocytosis or honeycombing, it frequently presents as a reticular pattern on a CXR.
However sometimes an interstitial pattern can be seen and in many cases UIP can be suspected based on the x-ray findings. #Diagnosis #Radiology #Pulmonary #CXR #Interstitial #Pattern #Differential #RadiologyAssistant