Lung Involvement in Pulmonary Vasculitis: A Radiological Review

Abstract

Pulmonary vasculitis identifies a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by inflammation, damage and necrosis of the wall of pulmonary vessels. The most common approach to classify vasculitis is according to etiology, therefore dividing them into primary and secondary, with a further sub-classification of primary vasculitis based on the size of the affected vessels (large, medium, and small). Pulmonary involvement is frequently observed in patients with systemic vasculitis and radiological presentation is not pathognomonic, but may vary between diseases. The main findings using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) include small vessel wall thickening, nodular lesions, cavitary lesions, reticular opacities, ground-glass opacities (GGO), consolidations, interlobular septal thickening, tracheobronchial stenosis, and aneurysmal dilatation of pulmonary arteries, with or without pleural effusion. Radiological diagnosis alone is difficult since signs and symptoms of lung vessel involvement are often non-specific and might overlap with other conditions such as infections, connective tissue diseases and neoplasms. Therefore, the aim of this review is to describe the most common radiological features of lung involvement in pulmonary vasculitis so that, alongside detailed clinical history and laboratory tests, a prompt diagnosis can be performed.