DDx
Differential Diagnoses
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Cavitating lung cancer
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Cavitating lung infarcts
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Cavitating pneumoconiosis
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Cavitating sarcoidosis
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Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (GPA, formerly Wegener Granulomatosis)
And other vasculitides.
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Hiatus hernia
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Infected bulla containing a fluid level
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Infected congenital pulmonary lesion, such as bronchogenic cyst or sequestration
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Localized empyema
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Lung parasites (eg, hydatid cyst, Paragonimus infection)
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Mycobacterium Avium Complex (MAC) (Mycobacterium Avium-Intracellulare [MAI])
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Pulmonary hematoma
Media Gallery
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Histology of a lung abscess shows dense inflammatory reaction (low power).
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A thick-walled lung abscess.
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Pneumococcal pneumonia complicated by lung necrosis and abscess formation.
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A lateral chest radiograph shows air-fluid level characteristic of lung abscess.
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A 54-year-old patient developed cough with foul-smelling sputum production. A chest radiograph shows lung abscess in the left lower lobe, superior segment.
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A 42-year-old man developed fever and production of foul-smelling sputum. He had a history of heavy alcohol use, and poor dentition was obvious on physical examination. Chest radiograph shows lung abscess in the posterior segment of the right upper lobe.
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A 42-year-old man developed fever and production of foul-smelling sputum. He had a history of heavy alcohol use, and poor dentition was obvious on physical examination. Lung abscess in the posterior segment of the right upper lobe was demonstrated on chest radiograph. CT scan shows a thick-walled cavity with surrounding consolidation.
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Chest radiograph of a patient who had foul-smelling and bad-tasting sputum, an almost diagnostic feature of anaerobic lung abscess.
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Histology of a lung abscess shows dense inflammatory reaction (high power).
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