High-resolution x-ray computed tomography in lymphoid interstitial pneumonia

Three patients with lymphoid interstitial pneumonia (two HIV 1+ patients with chronic lymphadenopathic syndromes and one with a not-characterized autoimmune disease) have been studied with high-resolution computed tomography (HR-CT). This technique reveals septal lines, small reticulonodular opacities, polyhedral micronodular opacities, "ground-glass" opacities and a dense, subpleural, curved broken line in one patient. The lesions dominate in the bases of the lungs. They are not characteristic for lymphoid interstitial pneumonia. If a patient present with a chronic lymphadenopathic syndrome, the diagnosis of an opportunistic infection should not be automatically made, since the syndrome can be caused by lymphoid interstitial pneumonia.