| Objective: To improve the understanding and diagnostic ability of solitary pulmonary tuberculosis nodules(SPTN)by analyzing and summarizing their CT features.Methods: The chest CT data of 42 patients with pathologically confirmed SPTN were analyzed retrospectively.Distribution,morphological features,changes of surrounding structures,and enhancement of lesions were mainly evaluated.Results: All of 42 SPTN were solid,which mainly distributed in the upper lobes of both lungs(23,54.8%).Among the 20(47.6%)round or oval nodules,9(45.0%)had smooth margin,localized protrusion was common in them(5,55.6%);eleven(55.0%)had coarse margin,and some were lobulated and had small protuberances or fibrosis(8,72.7%).Seven(16.7%)were triangle-like nodules,which usually had smooth margin and slightly high density and located close to adjacent vessels with apex towards pleura(5,71.4%).Six(14.3%)were long and oval,which usually had serrated margin and fibrosis(4,66.7%).Nine(21.4%)had irregular shape,which usually had heterogeneous density with air bronchial sign or vacuole sign and rough margin surrounded by ground-glass opacity(5,55.6%).Among 31(73.8%)patients with enhancement data,most of nodules had no significant enhancement(15,48.4%)or mild enhancement(13,41.9%).Enhancement was more common in nodules with coarse margin(13,61.9%)than that with smooth margin(3,30.0%)(P < 0.05).Conclusion: CT features of SPTN mainly have four patterns.The possibility of tuberculosis should be considered when nodules have localized protrusion or fibrosis,triangular shape with slight high density and smooth margin,or long and oval shape with serrated margin.Enhancement is helpful for further improving diagnostic accuracy. |
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