Computed Tomography in Pulmonary Pseudotumors and Their Relation to Asbestos Exposure

Twelve patients, nine of whom had histories of exposure to asbestos, were evaluated by chest roentgenography and computed tomography because of a pulmonary mass lesion. The lesion consisted of condensed atelectatic lung parenchyma surrounded by marked thickening of the pleura--a pulmonary pseudotumor. In most patients, the mass lesion was only part of a more extensive disease process with pleural plaques and parenchymal fibrosis. Computed tomography demonstrated the full extent of disease better than chest roentgenograms. Asbestos is stressed as a possible causative factor of these mass lesions.