Fig. 12

DIP pattern in a 60-year-old man. The patient (smoker of 25 pack-years) complained of progressive dyspnoea and dry cough. Pulmonary function was characterised by a moderate reduction in DLCO and normal dynamic lung volumes. Physical examination revealed digital clubbing and fine crackles were heard in the lung bases on chest auscultation. On HRCT images, lung ground-glass opacifications are clearly shown through the lungs and correlate with the intra-alveolar accumulation of macrophages. Bronchial wall thickening and bronchiectasis are also associated. Microcysts have been described in almost 50 % of cases [7]. The coronal HRCT image (C) clearly shows peribronchovascular small cysts (white arrow); also emphysema is recognisable through the lung