title: Rounded atelectasis with atypical computed tomography findings.
abstract: Rounded atelectasis is atelectasis of the peripheral part of the lung, typically in contact with thickened pleura, featuring characteristic computed tomography findings. In this case, a 61-year-old man with history of asbestos exposure presented with a right-middle-lobe nodule on chest radiograph, with computed tomography findings suspicious for neoplasm. The patient underwent surgical resection, which revealed rounded atelectasis. Our case raises a question about the sensitivity of radiographic criteria used in identifying rounded atelectasis, and it emphasizes the need to keep rounded atelectasis in the differential diagnosis of a single pulmonary nodule in a patient with a history of asbestos exposure.
authors.affiliation: Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City 73104, USA.
authors.forename: Walid G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Younis
authors.forename: Tarek A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Dernaika
authors.forename: Kellie R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Gary T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Kinasewitz
authors.forename: Jean I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Keddissi
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011013:Pneumonectomy; D001261:Pulmonary Atelectasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed