Concealed pulmonary abscess: Diagnosis by computed tomography

During childhood, an acute pneumonia with bulging margins usually reflects an abundant production of exudate. However, an unexplained persistence of an expansile pneumonia following therapy indicates that the infectious process may be isolating itself by forming an abscess. Previous reports emphasize that such abscesses are rarely diagnosed prior to thoracotomy or autopsy. Computed tomography facilitates an earlier disclosure of an abscess or empyema that is producing a persistent but unexplained expanding opacification on plain film.