Diffuse interlobular septal thickening in a coal miner
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
- Correspondence to Dr Y Haider, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Preston Road, Chorley PR7 1PP, UK; Yussef.Haider{at}lthtr.nhs.uk
- Received 18 June 2009
- Accepted 4 November 2009
Abstract
Diffuse interlobular septal thickening (DIST) is an abnormality seen on high-resolution CT (HRCT) scanning of the thorax. While DIST may be present to variable extents in a number of lung conditions, it is uncommon as a predominant finding except in a few entities. This report features an ex-coal miner, thought to have coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), in whom the HRCT scan showed no evidence of CWP and instead showed DIST. The patient’s condition progressed incessantly towards death from severe secondary pulmonary hypertension. The case links fatal pulmonary hypertension to DIST, a pattern not previously described in coal workers.
Footnotes
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Competing interests None.
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Patient consent Obtained from the patient’s family.
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Provenance and Peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
