[Pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis].

OBJECTIVE

To explore the clinical manifestations of pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis (PLC), to analyse its associated diagnostic methods, and to improve the understanding of PLC and its diagnosis.

METHOD

Retrospective analysis of 4 cases of PLC and review of the literature.

RESULT

The clinical manifestations of PLC include: (1) dyspnea and cough; (2) normal or restrictive pattern ventilation; (3) diffuse or local reticulonodular infiltrates in the lung like interstitial fibrosis and pleural effusion on chest radiograph; (4) CT and high-resolution CT (HRCT) scans reveal a beaded chain appearance caused by uneven thickening of the interlobular septa and pleural membrane, polygonal thickening of bronchovascular bundles, and mediastinal lymphadenopathy as well.

CONCLUSION

These clinical data suggest that any manifestations similar to pulmonary interstitial fibrosis complicated with pleural effusion and paratracheal lymphadenopathy should be further differentiated from PLC by HRCT and pleural-lung tissue biopsy.