Update: The Radiographic Features of Pulmonary Tuberculosis pot

During the primary phase of the disease these include pulmonary consolidation 50%, which often involves the middie or lower lobes or the anterior segment of an upper lobe; cavitation 29%

John H Woodring’

H Mac Vandiviere?

Andrew M Fried' Marcus L Dillon®

Terry D Williams’

lrene G Melvin?

Received April 15, 1985; accepted after revision

November 4, 1985

‘Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Albert B

Chandler Medical Center, University of Kentucky

College of Medicine, 800 Rose St., Lexington, KY

40536-0084 Address reprint requests to J H

Woodring

2 Department of Pediatrics, Albert B Chandler

Medical Center, University of Kentucky College of

Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536-0084

3 Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic

Surgery, Albert B Chandier Medical Center, Uni-

versity of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington,

KY 40536-0084

AJR 146:497-506, March 1986

036 1-803X/86/1463-0497

© American Roentgen Ray Society

Update: The Radiographic Features

of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Pulmonary tuberculosis produces a broad spectrum of radiographic abnormalities

During the primary phase of the disease these include pulmonary consolidation (50%), which often involves the middie or lower lobes or the anterior segment of an upper lobe;

cavitation (29%) or pneumatocele formation (12%); segmental or lobar atelectasis (18%);

pleural effusion (24%); hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy (35%); disseminated miliary disease (6%); and a normal chest radiograph (15%) During the postprimary phase of the disease, common abnormalities include exudative and/or fibroproductive parenchymal densities (100%), predominantly in the apical and posterior segments of the upper lobes (91%); cavitation (45%) with bronchogenic spread of disease (21%);

marked fibrotic response in the lungs (29%); and pleural effusion, empyema, and fibrosis (18%, 4%, and 41%, respectively) Upper-lobe masslike lesions are seen occasionally (7%); spontaneous pneumothorax and intrathoracic lymphadenopathy are rare (5%

each) Common causes of a missed diagnosis of tuberculosis are (1) failure to recognize hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy as a manifestation of primary disease in adults, (2) exclusion of tuberculosis because disease predominates in or is limited to the anterior segment of an upper lobe or the basilar segment of a lower lobe, (3) overlooking

of minimal fibroproductive lesions or reporting them as inactive, (4) failure to recognize that an upper-lobe mass surrounded by satellite fibroproductive lesions might be tuberculous, and (5) failure to consider healed sequelae of primary disease or a positive purified protein derivative skin test as contributory to identifying the patient’s pulmonary disease

During the last decade, various authors have enumerated the “unusual” manifes-

tations of pulmonary tuberculosis in the adult population [1-6] These unusual

manifestations usually have been implicated in the frequent failure of both radiolo- gist and clinician to recognize that tuberculosis could be the cause of an abnormal chest radiograph in patients who are subsequently, and rather surprisingly, proven

to have tuberculosis As Choyke et al [7] indicate, these so-called unusual

manifestations of tuberculosis in adults are actually typical of the disease: What is

unusual is that they often represent primary disease occurring in the adult popula-

tion

Although physicians are more familiar with the radiographic manifestations of postprimary tuberculosis than with those of primary disease, problems in radi- ographic diagnosis do occur Minimal exudative or fibroproductive tuberculosis may be overiooked or, commonly, fibroproductive lesions may be assumed to be

inactive even though the patient subsequently proves to be sputum-positive for

Mycobacterium tuberculosis [1, 5, 8] Miller and MacGregor [1] reported several cases of advanced postprimary tuberculosis with extensive upper-lobe cavitation

in which tuberculosis was not even considered as a diagnostic possibility!

Because of the apparent widespread difficulty in recognizing the radiographic manifestations of pulmonary tuberculosis, we thought it would be beneficial to review the spectrum of radiographic abnormalities attributable to M tuberculosis

in a university medical center We emphasize the radiographic features of primary

[] PRIMARY TB

GB Post- primary 78

a T

—_

0-5 6-IO lI-2O 2l-3O 31-40 41-50 SI-60 61-70 Tl>

AGE IN YEARS

Fig 1.—Prevalence of primary and postprimary tuberculosis by age in 90

patients

Fig 2.—Primary lymphohematogenous dissemination with miliary pattern in

43-year-old man

and postprimary disease, similarities and differences between

the two, and the recognition of certain patterns that should

lead to suspicion of pulmonary tuberculosis The pathogen-

esis of pulmonary tuberculosis is also discussed

Materials and Methods

The chest radiographs and medical records of patients diagnosed

as having clinically active M tuberculosis were reviewed Between

1974 and 1984, 107 patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis were

documented at the University of Kentucky Medical Center Of these,

17 patients had insufficient information in their medical records to

determine whether they had primary or postprimary disease with M

tuberculosis These 17 patients were excluded from the study The

Centers for Disease Control and American Thoracic Society criteria

for confirmation of tuberculosis were met in the 90 remaining cases,

that is, (1) either bacteriologic confirmation of current disease or both

TABLE 1: Location of Pulmonary Consolidation in 73 Patients with Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Type of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Site of Consolidation Primary Postprimary

(n = 17) (n = 56)

Right upper lobe:

Right lower lobe:

Left upper lobe:

Left lower lobe:

a significant skin reaction to the purified protein derivative (PPD) and Clinical and/or radiographic evidence of current disease, and (2) radiographic improvement after administration of two or more anti- tuberculous drugs [9, 10]

Primary tuberculosis was documented in 34 (38%) of the 90 patients on the basis of the following criteria: (1) recently documented conversion of the PPD skin test coupled with a positive culture of M tuberculosis from tissue or body fluids (24 patients); (2) recently documented conversion of the PPD skin test coupled with clinical and radiographic evidence of current disease although subsequent cultures for M tuberculosis were negative (seven patients, all chil- dren); and (3) positive culture for M tuberculosis with no prior history

of tuberculosis, a previously negative PPD skin test, and a previously normal chest radiograph (three patients) At the time of illness these patients were anergic and the PPD skin test was nonreactive Of the

34 patients with primary tuberculosis, 19 were female and 15 were male; the patients were between 6 months and 87 years of age (average, 24 years) (fig 1) Of these 34 patients, 19 (56%) were 18 years of age or older These 19 adults with primary tuberculosis comprised 25% of the 75 adults with active pulmonary tuberculosis

in our total study population of 90 individuals As shown in figure 1, four of the patients with primary tuberculosis were over 71 years of age There was no evidence that these four patients had ever had tuberculosis or a positive PPD skin test previously to suggest that the booster effect was the cause of the recent PPD conversion One

of these four elderly patients was quite debilitated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia Two of the other adults with primary tubercu- losis had diabetes mellitus (one case each of juvenile-onset and adult- onset diabetes)

Postprimary tuberculosis was documented in 56 (62%) of the 90 patients on the basis of the following criteria: (1) positive culture for

M tuberculosis obtained on one or more admissions to the hospital (all 56 patients), either from the sputum (53 cases), from material obtained from fiberoptic bronchoscopy (two), or from gastric aspirates (one); and (2) evidence of previous primary infection with tuberculosis (all 56 patients) based on a documented positive PPD skin test before the episode of current disease (39 patients), radiographic evidence

of the previous primary infection (35), and/or a previously positive culture for M tuberculosis without antituberculous treatment before

Fig 3.—Primary tuberculosis in 26-year-old man A, Consolidation of the

anterior segment of left-upper-lobe cavitation, left paratracheal lymphadenop-

athy (arrow), and enlarged cardiac silhouette from pericardial effusion Recently

documented conversion of PPD skin test was believed to be noncontributory,

and patient was treated with erythromycin for presumed Mycoplasma pneu-

monia B and C, 1 month later: spontaneous clearing of pericardial effusion

Cavitary disease in anterior segment of left upper lobe and left paratracheal

lymphadenopathy (B, arrow) are more clearly seen Sputum cultures obtained

at this time grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis

the time of diagnosis (11) Of the 56 patients with postprimary

tuberculosis, 36 were men and 20 were women; the patients were

between 20 and 87 years of age (average, 51) (fig 1) Five of these

56 patients had associated conditions that may have contributed to

the development of postprimary tuberculosis, including chronic renal

failure (two cases) and acute lymphocytic leukemia, chronic alcohol-

ism, and pregnancy (one case each)

The patients in our study were from central and eastern Kentucky

Although these patients are similar in many respects to those seen

at other major medical centers, the majority came from small rural

communities (less than 10,000 population) rather than urban inner-

city areas In fact, Kentucky is unique in that the case rate of

tuberculosis is significantly greater in the nonurban population

The chest radiographs of the 90 patients were reviewed and

evaluated for abnormalities of the lung parenchyma, airways, intra-

thoracic lymph nodes, and pleura Finally, the initial radiographic

C

report and clinical diagnosis in each patient's medical record was reviewed with attention directed to the degree of initial suspicion of tuberculous disease The initial radiographic interpretations were prepared in conjunction by a radiology resident and board-certified diagnostic radiologist in all cases Specific historical information con- cerning the status of the PPD skin test or a high degree of clinical suspicion of active tuberculosis was provided to the initial interpreters

in less than one-half of cases Potential causes of a nondiagnosis of tuberculosis were evaluated

Results

Primary Tuberculosis

A normal chest radiograph coupled with a positive culture for M tuberculosis was found in five (15%) of the 34 patients

with primary tuberculosis, who were clinically thought to have

endobronchial disease Two patients presented with a diffuse

miliary pattern (fig 2) The remaining 27 patients had pulmo-

nary parenchymal consolidation, atelectasis, intrathoracic

Fig 4.—Primary tuberculosis in 24-year-old female diabetic with recent

conversion of PPD skin test Multiple cavities with air-fluid levels (arrowheads)

in superior segment of right lower lobe

lymphadenopathy, pleural effusion, and pericardial effusion as either isolated or combined findings

Pulmonary consolidation occurred in 17 patients (50%) In

13 patients a single area of pulmonary consolidation was encountered; in four patients multiple areas of parenchymal consolidation were present Overall, 24 areas of consolidation were encountered in these 17 patients (table 1) The right and left lungs were equally affected; the mid and lower parts of the lungs were involved slightly more often than the upper lung zones; however, when the upper lobes were involved, anterior segment involvement was more common than in- volvement of the apical or posterior segments (table 1, fig 3) Cavitation had developed in five (29%) of the 17 patients with pulmonary consolidation (figs 3 and 4); in one case air- fluid levels were noted In two patients pneumatoceles were present (fig 5) In seven of these patients pulmonary consol- idation was an isolated finding; however, in 10 patients con- solidation was associated with other findings including lymph- adenopathy, pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, and lobar atelectasis

Segmental or lobar atelectasis occurred in six patients (18%) (fig 6) The anterior segment of the right upper lobe was involved in one case, the right middle lobe in two cases, and the right lower lobe in three cases

Pleural effusion was present in eight (24%) of the 34 patients (fig 7) Effusion was unilateral in seven cases and bilateral in one The size of the effusion was judged to be small in two cases, medium in one, and large in six according

to the criteria of Roper and Waring [11] Three patients

presented with isolated pleural effusions; however, in five patients effusion was associated with parenchymal consoli- dation and/or lymphadenopathy Pericardial effusion was seen in only one case (fig 3) Echocardiography was not

Fig 5.—Primary tuberculosis in 3-year-old boy Right hilar lymphadenopathy Fig 6.—Primary tuberculosis in 4-year-old girl Right lower-lobe collapse

(black arrow) and shift of upper mediastinum to right (white arrow).

Fig 7.—Primary tuberculosis in 8-year-old girl Large pleural effusion on

right

performed routinely and therefore was not evaluated in this

retrospective study

Hilar and/or mediastinal lymphadenopathy was present in

12 (35%) of the 34 patients (figs 3, 5, and 8) Lymphadenop-

athy was present in six of the 15 children and six of the 19

adults Lymphadenopathy was limited to the hilum in six

cases, involved both hilar and mediastinal nodes in three, and

was limited to the mediastinum in three In two patients

lymphadenopathy was an isolated finding; however, in 10

instances lymphadenopathy was associated with pleural ef-

fusion, consolidation, and/or atelectasis

The radiographic diagnosis was initially correct in only 11

(34%) of these patients with primary tuberculosis Radi-

ographic patterns most often diagnosed as tuberculosis in-

cluded a miliary pattern, parenchymal consolidation accom-

panied by lymphadenopathy in a child, and cavitation Pat-

terns least likely to elicit a diagnosis of tuberculosis included

a normal chest radiograph, hilar and mediastinal lymphade-

nopathy in an adult, and isolated findings of parenchymal

consolidation, atelectasis, or pleural effusion

The clinical diagnosis was initially correct in 29 cases (85%)

on the basis of the history and physical examination, chest

radiograph report, and knowledge of a recent conversion of

the PPD skin test However, in five patients, all adults, tuber-

culosis was initially excluded as a possible diagnosis because

the chest radiograph was felt to be incompatible with the

diagnosis of tuberculosis in an adult Four of these patients

demonstrated hilar and/or mediastinal lymphadenopathy and

the fifth had consolidation of the anterior segment of the right

upper lobe

Fig 8.—Primary tuberculosis in 13-year-old boy Bilateral hilar, right para-

tracheal, and aortic-pulmonic window lymphadenopathy (arrows) resembies

sarcoidosis, lymphoma, or metastatic disease

Postprimary Tuberculosis Pulmonary parenchymal disease was present in all 56 patients with postprimary tuberculosis In seven patients a single segment of lung was involved; in 49, two or more areas

of the lungs were involved Overall, 246 areas of pulmonary

disease were present in these 56 patients (table 1) The apical

and posterior segments of the upper lobes were the most commonly involved parts of the lungs (figs 9 and 10) Involvement of unusual parts of the lung was common in postprimary tuberculosis (fig 11) Twenty-four patients had disease involving the anterior segment of an upper lobe; 18 patients had involvement of the basilar segments of the lower lobes However, in the vast majority of these cases, disease was present in more typical parts of the lung as well, for example, the apical and posterior parts of the upper lobes or superior segment of a lower lobe In only one case each was

postprimary tuberculosis isolated to the anterior segment of

an upper lobe or basilar segment of a lower lobe

The pulmonary parenchymal disease was characterized as

being exudative, fibroproductive (fibronodular and/or fibrocal- cific), and nodular The most common finding (79%) was that

of a mixture of exudative and fibroproductive lesions In 18% the pulmonary disease was purely fibroproductive in nature, and in 3% the disease was purely exudative in nature In 11 patients virtually all parts of both lungs were involved, and the disease was considered to be extensive Lobar enlarge- ment was noted in one case Large nodules or masslike densities were seen in four patients These always occurred

in the upper lobes and were always accompanied by other

Fig 9.—Postprimary tuberculosis Fibroproductive (fibronodular) densi-

ties in apical segment of left upper lobe (arrows), initially interpreted as old,

inactive scarring Sputum culture obtained 1 year later grew Mycobacterium

tuberculosis

Fig 10.—Postprimary tuberculosis in apical and posterior segments of

both upper lobes in 36-year-old man Blunting of right costophrenic angle

(curved arrow) and calcified Ghon lesion in lingula (straight arrow) were

residual findings from primary infection

Fig 11.—Postprimary tuberculosis in 77-year-old man Homogeneous con-

solidation of right middle and lower lobes and mottled consolidation of left lower

lobe Subtle fibroproductive lesions in apical segment of right upper lobe

(straight arrow) and calcified Ghon lesion in left lower lobe (curved arrow)

Bilateral apical pleural thickening

Fig 12.—Postprimary tuberculosis in 87-year-old woman A 2-cm nonneo- plastic masslike density is seen associated with marked fibrosis of right upper lobe with upward retraction of right hilum and displacement of trachea to right There is marked right apical pleural thickening Fibroproductive lesions are present in basilar segments of right lower lobe and apical segment of left upper lobe Calcified Ghon lesion in left lower lobe (arrowhead).

os

Fig 13.—Postprimary tuberculosis in 20-year-old man A 5-cm thick-walled

Cavity in posterior segment of right upper lobe contains air-fluid level (black

arrow) Bronchogenic spread with acute tuberculous pneumonia involving

basilar segments of right lower lobe, left upper lobe and lingula, and basilar

segments of left lower lobe White arrow indicates calcified aortic-pulmonic

window node from previous primary infection

areas of fibroproductive or exudative densities (satellite le-

sions) (fig 12)

Cavitation was common, being present in 25 (45%) of the

56 patients (fig 13) In six cases a single cavity was present;

in 19 cases there were multiple cavities The cavity walls

ranged from very thin and smooth to very thick and nodular

Air-fluid levels were present in five cases Pneumatoceles

were encountered in only one case Bronchogenic spread of

tuberculous material from upper-lobe cavities to other parts

of the ipsilateral and/or contralateral lung was presumed to

have occurred in 12 of the 56 patients (fig 13) and often

resulted in extensive abnormalities on the chest radiograph

A marked fibrotic response was evoked in the lungs of 16

patients (29%) (fig 12) This was manifested by lobar atelec-

tasis in nine patients, upward hilar retraction in 10, downward

hilar retraction in one, tracheal deviation in seven, and ac-

quired tracheomegaly in four

Pleural effusion occurred in 10 (18%) of the 56 patients

with postprimary tuberculosis Effusion was unilateral in eight

cases and bilateral in two The size of effusion was small in

seven cases and medium in three In two cases air-fluid levels

were present in the pleural space, indicating bronchopleural

fistula with empyema formation Apical pleural thickening was

present in 23 cases (41%) (figs 11, 12, and 14); it was

unilateral in 14 cases and bilateral in nine The extent of apical

pleural thickening was usually 1 cm or less; in only three

cases was the apical pleura over 1 cm in thickness Sponta-

neous pneumothorax was noted in three of 56 patients and

Fig 14.—Postprimary tuberculosis Extensive fibroproductive and exudative densities with cavitation in apical and posterior segments of right upper lobe Right hilar and paratracheal lymphadenopathy (straight arrows) Curved arrow indicates calcified Ghon lesion in right lower lobe

was usually associated with extensive disease with multiple

Cavities

Hilar and/or mediastinal lymphadenopathy was present in three patients (5%) with postprimary tuberculosis (fig 14) Lymph node groups involved included the right hilar, right paratracheal, and subcarinal nodes The presence of intra- thoracic lymphadenopathy in these three cases accompanied rather extensive parenchymal disease with multiple areas of cavitation By comparison with the lung disease, lymphade- nopathy was not a prominent feature of postprimary tuber- culosis in these three cases

Residual evidence of the original primary infection was apparent in 35 cases (63%) This included calcified or non- calcified Ghon lesions in 24 patients, calcified hilar and/or mediastinal lymph nodes in nine, and blunting of the lateral costophrenic angle in nine (figs 10-14)

The radiographic diagnosis was initially correct in 33 (59%)

of these 56 patients In 12 patients the radiograph was interpreted as abnormal but tuberculosis was not considered

as a diagnosis, and in 11 patients the chest radiograph was

interpreted as being normal (six Cases) or as showing inactive lung scars (five cases) Common pitfalls in radiographic inter- pretation included the following: Fibroproductive lesions were either overlooked entirely or interpreted as being inactive; involvement of the anterior segments of the upper lobes or basal parts of the lower lobes was used as evidence against the diagnosis of tuberculosis; and large nodular or masslike densities were interpreted as being neoplastic The clinical

diagnosis was initially correct in only 31 cases (55%) In 12

patients the pulmonary symptoms were mild and nonspecific,

and tuberculosis was not thought to be the cause; in addition,

in several cases the chest radiographic abnormalities and

positive PPD skin test were considered to be noncontributory

to the present illness In 13 patients the pulmonary symptoms

were so Slight that pulmonary disease was not clinically

suspected In all, there were 17 patients (30%) in which

neither the radiologist nor clinician initially suspected tuber-

culosis, resulting in a delay of 1-3 years in the diagnosis

Discussion

Primary tuberculosis is an airborne infection The site of

primary tuberculosis in the lungs reflects areas of greatest

ventilation; the most common sites are the middle or lower

lung zones or the anterior segment of an upper lobe [12] The

regional multiplication of organisms is followed by hilar and/

or mediastinal lymphadenopathy and the lymphohematoge-

nous dissemination of organisms diffusely to the lungs and to

numerous extrapulmonary sites [12] During this time, most

patients are either asymptomatic or develop mild to moderate

systemic symptoms [12] Tuberculin conversion occurs in 4—

8 weeks, at which time the patient will demonstrate a positive

PPD skin test [12] This corresponds to an activation of

macrophage responsiveness, when activated macrophages

become capable of containing the primary infection [12] In

2%-6% of cases, the lymphohematogenous dissemination of

massive numbers of viable organisms results in clinical and

radiographic evidence of miliary tuberculosis [7, 12, 13] This

event is life-threatening and is characterized Clinically by fever,

weight loss, prostration, and, if untreated, death from respi-

ratory failure and disseminated intravascular coagulation

[12] In about 10% of primary infections, acquired immunity

is inadequate to contain the primary infection, and regional

multiplication is followed by chronic, progressive parenchymal

disease [12] This phenomenon is distinguishable from post-

primary disease only by documentation of a recent conversion

of the PPD skin test [14] In the remainder of cases the

primary infection is contained but remains a significant risk

for postprimary tuberculosis unless preventive treatment is

given [15, 16]; memory lymphocytes become immunologically

committed, and patients with primary infection generally retain

both tuberculin reactivity and immunity from primary reinfec-

tion for life [12]

Primary tuberculosis was once thought to be strictly a

disease of childhood During this century there has been a

marked decrease in the incidence of tuberculosis in the United

States as a result of careful public health measures and the

advent of antituberculous chemotherapy Because of this,

only a small percentage of American adults have a positive

PPD skin test, indicating that most adults today are suscep-

tible to the development of primary tuberculosis [1, 7] We

can be reasonably certain that 25% of the adults with pul-

monary tuberculosis in our series had the primary form of the

disease Figure 1 shows three age-related peaks of highest

prevalence The highest prevalence of primary tuberculosis

was noted in the 0-5-year age group; a second peak was

noted in the 21-30-year age group; and a third peak was noted in patients 71 years of age or older The high prevalence

of primary tuberculosis in young adults may be related to mobile, healthy, susceptible individuals living or working in crowded environments or under poor socioeconomic condi- tions [5]; primary tuberculosis in the elderly may be related to poor or crowded living conditions in addition to chronic or

debilitating disease and immunosuppression [5] Because of

the recent increased prevalence of primary tuberculosis in adults, the term “childhood” tuberculosis to describe primary tuberculosis should be abandoned

Postprimary tuberculosis is the name given to a clinical and

radiographic pattern of disease that correlates pathogeneti-

cally with acquired hypersensitivity and immunity [13] The careful observations and retrospective analyses of Stead [14, 17] and others [12] have led to the understanding that in 90%

of cases, postprimary tuberculosis results from reactivation

of a previously dormant primary iafection; a minority of cases represent a continuation of the primary disease [13, 14] Rarely, postprimary tuberculosis is exogenous superinfection

on an inactive or even active original infection—true reinfec-

tion [13]

The early parenchymal infiltrate of postprimary tuberculosis results from the intensive inflammatory reaction in the hyper- sensitive host [18] This may lead to caseous necrosis, which over time is apt to slough into a bronchus, leaving a cavity [18] The most commonly involved parts of the lungs in

postprimary disease are the apical and posterior segments of

an upper lobe [1, 5, 8, 13, 18-20] Two main factors have been postulated to explain this common location of postpri- mary tuberculosis The higher regional oxygen tensions of the apical and subapical parts of the upright lung (114 to 132 mm Hg) have been highly touted as being responsible for apical localization of postprimary disease It is suggested that the demonstrated higher oxygen tensions in the apex of the upright lung produce increased mycobacterial virulence; the lower parts of lung where alveolar oxygen tension is 108 mm

Hg or less are theorized to be quite resistant to the develop- ment of postprimary tuberculosis [18] This concept may best

be put to the test by observing populations dwelling at high altitude Above 10,000 feet (3048 m) of elevation, alveolar oxygen tension is substantially less than 100 mm Hg; above 15,000 feet (4570 m), alveolar oxygen tension is well below

80 mm Hg, even in the extreme apex of the lung [18] Nevertheless, native permanent residents of the Peruvian highlands (10,300-14,300 feet [3138-4357 m]) seem to be especially disposed to tuberculosis as compared to lowland natives (sea level) [18, 21]

A more likely explanation of the apical localization of post- primary tuberculosis is related to impaired clearance mech- anisms from poor lymph flow [18] Pulmonary lymph flow is related to two factors: microvascular pressure and respiratory motion In the erect lung, owing to gravitational effect, pul- monary perfusion and microvascular pressure are reduced in the apex relative to the middle and lower lung zones; as a result, apical lymph flow is also relatively deficient compared

to the more dependent parts of the lung [18] In addition,

lymph flow in small lymphatic channels is directly related to

respiratory excursion Since the anterior rib cage moves with

respiration but the posterior rib cage is relatively fixed, lymph

flow is also restricted in the posterior parts of the lung [18]

In primary tuberculosis, lymphohematogenous dissemination

results in the seeding of mycobacterial organisms to many or

all parts of thé lungs; the decreased lymph flow in the apical

and posterior parts of the lungs would result in decreased

clearance of organisms from these parts of the lung and

would favor the development of postprimary tuberculosis in

these locations [18]

Our study reveals a broad spectrum of radiographic abnor-

malities in primary and postprimary tuberculosis not unlike

those demonstrated in other reports on this subject It also

provides helpful insights into common causes for a misdi-

agnosis of tuberculosis

In children, a Clinical diagnosis of primary tuberculosis usu-

ally is made when an abnormal chest radiograph is coupled

with clinical evidence of pulmonary disease and a documented

conversion of the PPD skin test Certain radiographic pat-

terns, such as parenchymal consolidation associated with

hilar and/or mediastinal lymphadenopathy, or isolated hilar

and/or mediastinal lymphadenopathy, in children elicit a fre-

quent diagnosis of primary tuberculosis on the basis of the

chest radiograph alone

In adults, these same findings often are viewed as unusual,

atypical, or even incompatible with tuberculosis, and tuber-

Culin conversion may be viewed as a coincidental and unre-

lated phenomenon Four adults in our 34 cases of primary

tuberculosis escaped initial radiographic and clinical diagnosis

because hilar and/or mediastinal lymphadenopathy were con-

sidered by the clinician and radiologist alike to be incompatible

with “adult” tuberculosis Hilar and mediastinal lymphadenop-

athy are nonspecific findings that occur in bronchogenic car-

cinoma, metastatic neoplasm, sarcoidosis, lymphoma, and

fungal disease But if the lymphadenopathy in these adults

had been recognized as a possible manifestation of primary

tuberculosis, the conversion of the PPD skin test might have

been viewed as related to the patient's illness, and a correct

diagnosis of primary tuberculosis might have been made In

another adult patient, tuberculosis was excluded as a possi-

bility because parenchymal consolidation was limited to the

anterior segment of an upper lobe While disease limited to

the anterior segment of an upper lobe or basilar segment of

a lower lobe is rare in postprimary tuberculosis and common

in nontuberculous pneumonia, it should be remembered that

these findings are rather common in primary tuberculosis

Postprimary disease in adults is often misdiagnosed also

The clinical symptoms often are minimal and the patient may

report only a nonspecific “smoker's cough” or no symptoms

at all In our series, 17 (30%) of 56 cases of active postprimary

tuberculosis were missed by both the clinician and the radiol-

ogist, resulting in a 1-3-year delay in diagnosis on one or

more hospital admissions

Incorrect appraisal of disease activity was the most com-

mon cause of misdiagnosis In local fibroproductive (fibro-

nodular, fibrocalcific) tuberculosis the exudative lesion is grad-

ually replaced by one or more sharply circumscribed shadows,

which are often irregular and angular in contour [13] Strand-

ing toward the hilum occurs, and calcification in one or more

of the nodules often appears [13] This pattern of pulmonary abnormality is characteristic of granulomatous disease and is seldom, if ever, found in other bacterial infections However,

we found that it was this characteristic pattern fo parenchymal tuberculosis that caused the greatest difficulty in diagnosis It

is this stage of postprimary tuberculosis that is often over- looked entirely or is reported as “old scarring” or “no active disease.” This is incorrect, since many of these patients may

be sputum-positive Without films dating back at least 6 months, an accurate statement about the stability of a fibro- productive lesion cannot be made; all of these lesions should

be reported as “possible tuberculosis or fungal disease, activ- ity indeterminant” [10, 22] Even in patients with unchanging tuberculous scars, active tuberculous infection can still be present on sputum culture [1] Therefore, these patients should be reported as “radiographically stable” rather than

“inactive” [10, 22] The term fibrotic, often used to describe this pattern of disease, is not recommended [10] because it implies inactivity

The second most common cause for a misdiagnosis of postprimary tuberculosis was involvement of an anterior seg- ment of an upper lobe or basilar segment of a lower lobe by parenchymal disease It is a common misconception that involvement of these areas excludes tuberculosis This is certainly not true of primary disease; moreover, in postprimary disease we found the anterior segments of the upper lobes

to be involved in 46% of cases and the basilar segments of the lower lobes to be involved in 32% of cases In most of these cases cavitary or fibroproductive disease was present

in typical locations; many of these patients also showed residual radiographic evidence of the previous primary dis- ease—subtle but helpful adjunctive findings in arriving at a correct diagnosis

The third most common cause for misdiagnosis of postpri- mary disease was the presence of large nodular or masslike densities that were considered to be neoplastic Typically, these were upper-lobe-predominant, rather than basilar, and were associated with fibroproductive lesions in typical loca- tions

As Palmer [19] states, “pulmonary tuberculosis continues

to keep the physician humble.” Since the advent of antituber- culous chemotherapy 30 years ago, there has been a dramatic drop in the incidence of tuberculosis in this country This has created a generation of American physicians who have little experience with it Although the case rate of tuberculosis is relatively stable in many areas of the country, some areas are experiencing a marked increase in incidence In addition, the

recent increased prevalence of primary tuberculosis in adults

has produced a confusing spectrum of disease seldom en- countered in adults in the past Because of the infectious nature of tuberculosis, the morbidity and mortality of the natural course of the disease, and the excellent therapeutic results of antituberculous chemotherapy in most cases, there

is good reason for all physicians to be sensitive to the contin- ued existence of this disease The presence of healed se- quelae of primary disease or a positive PPD should suggest that almost any radiographic abnormality could represent

active tuberculosis The recognition of primary disease in the

adult and close scrutiny for and proper reporting of fibropro-

ductive lesions could further improve the detection and diag-

nosis of active tuberculosis

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