Correct!
5. All of the above
Pulmonary manifestations of lupus are diverse (1). The most common thoracic manifestation of SLE is pleuritis. Pleuritic pain is present in 45–60% of patients and may occur with or without a pleural effusion. Clinically significant chronic interstitial pneumonitis (CIP) complicates SLE in 3–13% of patients but is rarely severe. Asymptomatic involvement is more common and abnormalities in pulmonary function tests have been cited in up to two thirds of patients with SLE in some studies. Acute lupus pneumonitis presenting as cough, dyspnea, pleuritic pain, hypoxemia, and fever occurs in 1–4% of patients with SLE. Pulmonary hypertension complicating SLE is rare with the clinical manifestations similar to those observed in primary pulmonary hypertension. Other pulmonary complications include diaphragmatic dysfunction, shrinking lung syndrome, cavitating pulmonary nodules, pulmonary vasculitis, and pulmonary embolism
(often due to circulating anticardiolipin antibodies), alveolar hemorrhage (reflecting diffuse endothelial injury), bronchiolitis obliterans, opportunistic pulmonary infections or drug toxicity from immunosuppressive therapy.
A CT of the chest was performed (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Representative images from the patient’s thoracic CT scan. (Click here for a movie of the CT scan)
Which of the following is/are true regarding the CT scan?
