title: Pulmonary disease in liver transplant recipients. Spectrum of CT features.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the features of pulmonary disease in liver transplant recipients by CT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Of 792 patients, 102 were referred to thoracic CT 3-2093 days after the transplantation procedure (median 107 days). All CT studies were retrospectively analyzed and correlated with clinical, microbiological, serological and histopathological findings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-eight of 102 patients (86%) had an abnormal CT. In 25 patients (25%), an elevated right hemidiaphragm, basal atelectasis and small effusions were the only abnormalities. Fourty-one patients (40%) displayed an infiltrate and 13 (13%) a mass lesion. Evidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection was found in 20 patients. CMV pneumonia was suggested by an interstitial pattern of pneumonia on CT (n=13). Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was highlighted by peribronchovascular infiltrates (n=5/8), bacterial pneumonia (n=24) including legionellosis (n= 13) by bilateral effusions (n=14) and lobar consolidation (n= 13). In 7/41 patients (17%) with both clinically apparent pulmonary disease and CT signs of pneumonia, no pathogen could be detected. Neoplastic disease was mostly due to tumor recurrence (n=6).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thoracic CT of liver transplant recipients aids in detecting and classifying both infectious and neoplastic complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Virchow-Clinic, Medical Faculty, Humboldt-University, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: F D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Knollmann
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mäurer
authors.forename: W O
authors.initials: WO
authors.lastname: Bechstein
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Vogl
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Neuhaus
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Felix
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001995:Bronchography; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007876:Legionellosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D008172:Lung Diseases, Fungal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011024:Pneumonia, Viral / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001261:Pulmonary Atelectasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed