Seminars in ultrasound, CT, and MR
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Vasculitis is a destructive inflammatory process affecting blood vessels. Pulmonary vasculitis may develop secondary to other conditions or constitute a primary idiopathic disorder. Thoracic involvement is most common in primary idiopathic large-vessel vasculitides (Takayasu arteritis, giant cell arteritis, Behçet disease) and primary antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated small-vessel vasculitides (Wegener granulomatosis, microscopic polyangiitis, Churg-Strauss syndrome). ⋯ The radiologic findings in primary pulmonary vasculitis vary widely and can include vessel wall thickening, nodular or cavitary lesions, ground-glass opacities, and consolidations, among others. Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage usually results from primary small-vessel vasculitis in the lungs. To diagnose vasculitis, medical teams must recognize characteristic combinations of clinical, radiologic, laboratory, and histopathologic features.
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Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is the remarkable hemodynamic consequence of widespread structural and functional changes within the pulmonary circulation. Elevated pulmonary vascular resistance leads to increased mean pulmonary arterial pressure and, ultimately, right ventricular dysfunction. PH carries a poor prognosis and warrants timely and accurate diagnosis for appropriate intervention. ⋯ Radiologic imaging is an essential tool in the detection and diagnostic evaluation of patients with PH. Echocardiography, ventilation-perfusion scintigraphy, multidetector computed tomography, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging provide insights into vascular morphology, pulmonary parenchymal status, cardiac function, and underlying etiology of the disorder. Emerging techniques of functional pulmonary and cardiac imaging hold great promise for the assessment and monitoring of these patients in the future.