Medical image of the week: diffuse pulmonary ossification

Abstract

No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. An 84-year-old man with a twelve-year history of interstitial lung disease with indolent course was referred for a new oxygen requirement. He had previously been diagnosed with usual interstitial pneumonia associated with occupational exposures. Over the previous six-months he became breathless with minimal activity. During this interval he had lost nearly 40 pounds. He had worked in uranium mining and had a mere four-pack-year smoking history. In his free time, he was an artisan and engaged in woodworking, metal craft and stonework. He was hypoxic with exertion and notably cachectic. His clinic exam was significant for grade 1 clubbing and soft inspiratory crackles that were audible at the bilateral bases. Pulmonary function testing demonstrated a restrictive ventilatory defect with severe reduction in diffusion capacity. A chest radiograph was followed by high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) with representative images shown in Figures 1 and 2. A diagnosis of diffuse pulmonary ossification …

Keywords

• lung calcification
• pulmonary ossification
• dendriform pulmonary ossification
• CT scan
• interstitial disease
• uranium mining
• stonework
• usual interstitial pneumonia
• UIP
• pathogenesis