title: Dome-shaped lesion on chest radiograph: retroperitoneal abscess dissecting through the posterior chest wall.
abstract: A 50-year-old man with an 8 x 4 cm mass on the posterior chest was found to have a large retroperitoneal abscess due to Klebsiella pneumoniae. The abscess dissected through the right lower lobe of the lung and the posterior chest wall to produce a subcutaneous mass. The source of the posterior chest wall mass appeared to be a perinephric abscess. A dome-shaped lesion above the right hemidiaphragm on chest radiograph resolved immediately with surgical drainage, suggesting that an abscess should be a prime consideration when one observes such a lesion on a chest film.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Florida for Health Sciences, Tampa.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Poulos
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Conrad
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Vesely
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017577:Cutaneous Fistula / Q000209:etiology*; D005402:Fistula / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007710:Klebsiella Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D012187:Retroperitoneal Space; D013909:Thorax