Caplan Syndrome Mimicking Progressive Massive Fibrosis on CT: A Case Report

Abstract

This report presents a unique case of Caplan syndrome that mimicked accelerated progressive massive fibrosis. The patient, a former coal miner, had been diagnosed with coal worker’s pneumoconiosis 15 years prior and had been treated for rheumatoid arthritis for over 20 years. Accelerated progressive massive fibrosis and the development of multiple nodules with cavitation in the basal lungs were subsequently observed on serial CT scans. Here, the CT manifestations of Caplan syndrome are highlighted in a case in which Caplan syndrome mimicked accelerated progressive massive fibrosis.

Keywords

• caplan syndrome
• rheumatoid nodule
• pneumoconiosis
• multiple pulmonary nodules
• arthritis
• rheumatoid