Cystic lesions in multislice computed tomography of the chest: A diagnostic approach

Purpose: To evaluate the role of Multislice Computed Tomography (MSCT) in the detection, diagnosis and differentiation of possible causes of chest cystic lesions using different capabilities of MSCT. Patients and methods: The study involved 43 patients. Clinical examination, history taking, relevant laboratory data, pulmonary function test if needed, together with different techniques of MSCT according to the assessed case were done to reach the possible diagnosis, and then pathology assessment was needed in 11 cases. Results: MSCT showed that 30 (70%) of cases were lung cysts, 5 (12%) of cases were mediastinal, 4 (9%) of cases were pleural and 4 (9%) of cases were chest wall. 25 (42%) of cases were with single cyst and 18 (58%) of cases were with multiple cysts. 23 (47%) of cases were with air containing cysts and 20 (53%) of cases were with fluid containing cysts. We discussed the differentiating MSCT features of various cystic lesions and the approach used to reach final diagnosis. Conclusion: Cystic lesions of the thorax have a wide range of differential diagnosis, and to reach the cause a multidisciplinary approach should be done. The role of MSCT imaging is essential in diagnosis and evaluation of different chest cystic lesions. 2016 The Egyptian Society of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. Production and hosting by Elsevier. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).