Lung US features of severe interstitial pneumonia: case report and review of the literature

Background: Chlamydia pneumonia is reported to account for a relatively large number of cases of CAP. In elderly patients in particular, the clinical presentation can be a severe form of diffuse interstitial pneumonia. The chest X-ray presentation is aspecific. Lung US can show a typical pattern of diffuse interstitial lung syndrome; in some cases, like the present one, the association of multiple B lines with a coarse and thickened pleural line points to a more likely diagnosis of interstitial pneumonia. Case report: We present the case of an 87-year-old woman with severe interstitial chlamydial pneumonia, for whom lung US was very useful for directing diagnosis and for follow-up during therapy. Conclusions: The use of lung US in the diagnosis of interstitial syndrome is likely to improve the care of patients in whom the diagnosis is a consideration; it offers better characterization than a chest X-ray and is free from CT radiation. Furthermore, the concept of using lung US for monitoring a patient is one of the major innovations that has emerged from recent studies. © 2017, Società Italiana di Ultrasonologia in Medicina e Biologia (SIUMB).