Phantom tumour of the lung
2012; Elsevier BV; Volume: 380; Issue: 9858 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s0140-6736(12)60693-x
ISSN1474-547X
AutoresEurico Oliveira, Paula Manuel, Alexandre João, Fernando Girão,
Tópico(s)Vascular Malformations and Hemangiomas
ResumoA 79-year-old man presented with an 8 h history of shortness of breath and oedematous legs. He had a history of hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and chronic obstructive pulmonary lung disease. He was on long term ipratropium bromide, irbesartan, amlodipine, amiodarone, and furosemide. He had normal vital signs and the only relevant findings in physical examination were bilateral oedema of both legs and rales in the lower half of both lungs. Radiograph of the chest showed an opaque elliptic image (red arrow) in the horizontal fissure and a round tumour-like image in the right inferior lobe (green arrow) (figure A). Our patient was treated with furosemide with clinical improvement. A second radiograph of the chest was obtained 4 h later and showed absorption of the elliptic image and almost complete absortion of the suspicious round tumour-like image (see appendix). 2 days later, after an adjustment to the drug dose, a new radiograph was done that was normal (figure B). Phantom tumours (or vanishing tumours) of the lung are well known entities in cardiovascular medicine which result from loculation of a pleural effusion within an interlobar fissure from exacerbated congestive heart failure. They require no special treatment beyond correction of the underlying heart condition and volume overload. Recognition of these vanishing tumours is, however, important in avoiding unnecessary and potentially harmful diagnostic tests and errors in therapy. Download .pdf (.28 MB) Help with pdf files Supplementary appendix
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