Primary pulmonary AIDS-related lymphoma

Pathologic and Radiologic Correlation of Adult Cystic Lung Disease: A Comprehensive Review

The presence of pulmonary parenchymal cysts on computed tomography (CT) imaging presents a significant diagnostic challenge. The diverse range of possible etiologies can usually be differentiated based on the clinical setting and radiologic features. In fact, the advent of high-resolution CT has facilitated making a diagnosis solely on analysis of CT image patterns, thus averting the need for a biopsy. While it is possible to make a fairly specific diagnosis during early stages of disease evolution by its characteristic radiological presentation, distinct features may progress to temporally converge into relatively nonspecific radiologic presentations sometimes necessitating histological examination to make a diagnosis. The aim of this review study is to provide both the pathologist and the radiologist with an overview of the diseases most commonly associated with cystic lung lesions primarily in adults by illustration and description of pathologic and radiologic features of each entity. Brief descriptions and characteristic radiologic features of the various disease entities are included and illustrative examples are provided for the common majority of them. In this article, we also classify pulmonary cystic disease with an emphasis on the pathophysiology behind cyst formation in an attempt to elucidate the characteristics of similar cystic appearances seen in various disease entities.

Primary pulmonary lymphoma in a patient with advanced AIDS

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is an AIDS defining lesion and risk of NHL most likely correlates with the degree of immunosuppression from HIV. Risk of NHL is highest among patients with CD4 count <50 cells/mL. Primary pulmonary lymphoma (PPL) is an infrequent cause of AIDS-related lymphoma. The authors report a patient with advanced AIDS presenting with recurrent fever and pulmonary nodule seen on the CT scan. The patient remained febrile despite being on broad spectrum antibiotics with no clear source of infection. The patient underwent a bronchoscopy with biopsy of the pulmonary lesion which was most consistent with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The patient was started on dose-adjusted etoposide, vincristine, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide and prednisone (EPOCH) and was noted to be afebrile and a repeat CT scan few weeks later showed resolution of her pulmonary nodule. This case highlights the importance of considering NHL in patients with advanced AIDS presenting with pulmonary nodule and fever.

Pathologic review of cystic and cavitary lung diseases

Pulmonary cystic and cavitary lesions caused by diverse etiologies are commonly encountered in chest imaging. The terms "cyst" and "cavity" are used to describe air-filled regions in the center of a nodule or consolidation of the lung. To date, only radiologic aspects of these lesions have been addressed. The morphologies of pulmonary cystic and cavitary lesions exhibit a broad spectrum, ranging from benign to malignant pulmonary diseases of acquired or congenital origin, including variable infectious diseases. In this review, we summarized the differential diagnosis of pathological entities to provide pathologists and radiologists with an overview of the diseases most commonly associated with pulmonary cystic and cavitary lesions in adults and children. The results showed slightly different patterns in the distribution of the diseases in the two groups. The most common causes of cavitary lesions include malignancy and infection in adults, and congenital malformation in children. Therefore, identification of pathologic entities correlating with the radiologic findings, clinical course, and location of the lesion is important in the evaluation of cystic and cavitary lung lesions in order to avoid unnecessary surgical procedures or delayed treatment.

Endobronchial leiomyoma: an unusual non-defining neoplasm in a patient with AIDS

Smooth muscle neoplasms are more frequent in human immunodeficiency infected children than in HIV seropositive adults. Endobronchial leiomyoma is a rare benign tumor in HIV infected adult patients. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of these tumors. Here we describe an adult patient with HIV infection with atelectasis of the left upper pulmonary lobe as the first clinical expression of an intrabronchial leiomyoma. In this case, we can not show the association with EBV. Our report suggests that smooth muscle tumors as leiomyoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of endobronchial masses in AIDS patients.