Last update:
   15-Jan-2020
 

Arch Hellen Med, 37(1), January-February 2020, 28-33

REVIEW

Chest X-ray in pulmonary arteriovenous dysplasia

D. Chaini,1 A. Tsipis,2 E. Petrou,2 V. Karali,3 A.M. Athanassiadou,4 E. Chaini5
1Department of Radiology, General Hospital of Corfu, Corfu,
2Division of Cardiology, "Onassis" Cardiac Surgery Centre, Athens,
3School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens,
4Department of Cytology, "Iaso" General Hospital, Athens,
5Department of Pneumonology, General Hospital of Corfu, Corfu, Greece

Pulmonary arteriovenous dysplasia consists of a pathological, direct communication of the pulmonary vein with the pulmonary artery, without capillary mesh mediation. The clinical consequences are hypoxemia, due to the escape of non-oxygenated venous blood into systemic circulation, and paradoxical embolic events in the central nervous system. Chest X-ray plays an important role in the diagnosis of pulmonary arteriovenous dysplasia because of its high specificity. This is a review of the clinical utility of thoracic radiography, with a description of the imaging characteristics of pulmonary arteriovenous dysplasia.

Key words: Chest X-ray, Pulmonary arteriovenous dysplasia.

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