This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Investigations

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Chest radiology is highly variable. The most frequent pattern is one of bronchial thickening with areas of interstitial infiltration and subsegmental atelectasis involving one of the lower lobes; sometimes, there may be dramatic shadowing in both lower lobes. Often there is no correlation between radiologic appearance and the clinical state of the patient.

White cell count is usually normal but ESR may be raised and C reactive proteins may be elevated.

Diagnosis is confirmed by: (1)

  • a rise of specific antibody titre - occurs in most instances, but, obviously, requires paired samples separated by a week or more, and is therefore not useful in the initial diagnosis
  • cold haemagglutination serology - present in about 50% of cases but may produce false positives in measles, infectious mononucleosis, adenovirus pneumonias, certain tropical diseases and collagen vascular disease
  • isolation of Mycoplasma pneumoniae

 

1. British Thoracic Society. BTS guidelines for the management of community acquired pneumonia in adults: update 2009. Jan 2015


Create an account to add page annotations

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.