What is lung attenuation?

What is lung attenuation?

The increased lung attenuation pattern develops when the amount of air in the airspaces and in the lumen of the airways decreases (resulting from lung volume decrease or from partial or total filling of the airspaces) and when the soft tissue structures increase in size and/or amount, two phenomena that often occur …

What does a mosaic pattern in the lungs mean?

This CT mosaic pattern of lung attenuation is a nonspecific finding that can reflect the presence of vascular disease, airway abnormalities, or ground-glass interstitial or air-space infiltrates. However, it is often possible to distinguish among these categories.

How is mosaic attenuation treated?

Pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) is a choice of treatment in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Mosaic attenuation pattern (MAP) is a radiological finding in CTEPH and there are equivocal findings on its use to determine the intensity of the disease.

What is mosaic appearance?

Dr Jeremy Jones ◉ and Dr Nick Henson et al. Mosaic attenuation is a descriptive term used in describing a patchwork of regions of differing pulmonary attenuation on CT imaging.

What causes mosaic attenuation in lungs?

Vascular causes resulting in mosaic attenuation are typically chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, which is characterized by organizing thrombi in the elastic pulmonary arteries, or pulmonary arterial hypertension, a heterogeneous group of diseases affecting the distal pulmonary arterioles.

What does low attenuation mean on CT scan?

Attenuation is a feature of CT, and low attenuation means that a particular area is less intense than the surrounding. All of the malignant nodules confirmed by biopsy have low attenuation, with the exception of two which have a mixture of high and low attenuation.

What causes mosaic attenuation in the lungs?

How is small airway disease treated?

Patients with small airways disease seem to benefit from inhaled asthma medications that have improved capacity to reach the distal lung compartment. This is especially important for patients with severe asthma, who rely upon high doses of inhaled corticosteroid and bronchodilators for asthma control.

What does attenuation mean in CT scan?

Attenuation is the measurement of energy absorbed and deflected as it passes through a medium. In simpler terms, attenuation is how much stopping power a material has on energy.

Is mosaic attenuation serious?

Mosaic attenuation can be an indirect sign of small airways disease on inspiratory CT. Although mosaic attenuation is a nonspecific finding, small airway causes of mosaicism are more common than vascular causes (24).

What does mosaic pattern of lung attenuation mean?

This CT mosaic pattern of lung attenuation is a nonspecific finding that can reflect the presence of vascular disease, airway abnormalitie … Areas of variable lung attenuation forming a “mosaic pattern” are occasionally seen on computed tomography (CT) or high-resolution CT (HRCT) images of the lungs.

What does mosaic attenuation mean in CT imaging?

Mosaic attenuation pattern in lung Dr Edgar Lorente ◉ and Dr Nick Henson et al. Mosaic attenuation is a descriptive term used in describing a patchwork of regions of differing pulmonary attenuation on CT imaging. It is a non-specific finding, although is associated with the following:

Which is more common mosaic attenuation or vascular disease?

Although mosaic attenuation is a nonspecific finding, small airway causes of mosaicism are more common than vascular causes ( 24 ). In patients with small airways disease, mosaic attenuation is due to the presence of normally attenuated lung in direct apposition to abnormal hyperlucent lung.

Where did mosaic attenuation get its name from?

It is characterized by heterogeneous lung attenuation with well-defined borders corresponding to the secondary pulmonary lobules. The name derives from mosaic artwork, which consists of variously colored glass or stone tiles inlaid in a contrasting pattern ( Fig. 1 ).