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Glass Infiltrates Lungs

09/02/2010

Question:

yes, i have had 2 recent ct scans with contrast… was told i had bilat ground glass lung infilterates.. i am asymptomatic, but did experience viral pneumonia about 6 months ago. my anxiety level is off the roof, but trust my pulmonologist. never hurts to hear anothers opinion on this.. know hard to do without seeing the scans, but would appreciate any feedback. never did get my question answered from my dr, approx how long could a person have these and is there anything i could be doing to help myself.. thank you.. from texas

Answer:

Many conditions can cause “ground glass infiltrates” seen on a chest CT scan. This type of CT abnormality is often due to inflammation. Sometimes, it can be something as simple as pneumonia or edema (fluid in the lung due to heart failure). However, there are also a number of interstitial lung diseases that can cause ground glass infiltrates.

Normally, the first step in evaluating any type of CT scan abnormality (including ground glass infiltrates) is to see how long they have been there so comparison to any previous x-rays or CT scans can be helpful. This is where a patient can be very proactive in their care as it is often easier for the patient to locate and get copies of old x-rays to bring to their doctor for comparison purposes. If the ground glass infiltrates are persistent, then we often begin a work up for interstitial lung disease.

For more information:

Go to the Lung diseases health topic.