What is pulmonary infiltration? What are the reasons for that? Can it be treated? Find out everything that interests you about lung infiltration through this article.

Here is the most important information related to lung infiltration in terms of its causes, symptoms, methods of diagnosis and treatment, as follows:

What is pulmonary infiltration?

Pneumonia is defined as the accumulation of fluid in the space between the tissues lining the lungs and the chest wall known as the pleural space.

As the accumulation of fluid may cause the lungs to not expand fully, which may make breathing difficult, and it can also cause the collapse of the lung or part of it.

Symptoms of lung infiltration

Pulmonary infiltration caused by infection is often accompanied by fever, chills, and loss of appetite. Common symptoms associated with infiltration may include:

pain in chest.

difficulty breathing.

Pain associated with breathing, and the pain usually increases with deep breathing.

Cough, which is either a dry cough or a productive cough.

Causes of pulmonary infiltration

Pulmonary infiltration is always caused by another medical condition, and there are many medical conditions that can cause it, and here are some of the most common causes:

congestive heart failure

pancreatitis.

Systemic diseases, such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.

Infection, such as tuberculosis or pneumonia.

Pulmonary embolism, which occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery in the lung.

Lung cancer, or cancer that spreads to the lungs or pleura.

Exposure to asbestos and mesothelioma.

Esophageal rupture.

Certain medical treatments can also lead to pulmonary edema, including the following

Open heart surgery or any other surgery of the chest.

Medications, such as methotrexate, amiodarone, and phenytoin.

Radiation therapy.

Ovarian hyperstimulation.

Diagnosis of pulmonary infiltration

The doctor will look for symptoms, perform a physical exam, tap the chest and listen for the sound with a stethoscope, but to confirm the presence of a lung infiltration, tests are done that may include the following:

1. Chest x-ray

Lung infiltrates appear white on X-ray images, while air spaces appear black.

The doctor may take more X-rays while you lie on one side of the body, as this can show whether the fluid is flowing freely into the pleural space.

2. Computed tomography

A CT scanner quickly takes several X-rays, then the computer s pictures of the entire chest, inside and out, which show more detail than a chest X-ray.

3. Ultrasonography

A probe placed on the chest produces images of the inside of the body that appear on a video screen, where the doctor uses ultrasound to locate the fluid and to obtain a sample for analysis.

4. Thoracic puncture

The doctor s a needle and tube called a catheter through the ribs into the pleural space to collect a little fluid for examination.

Lung infiltration treatment

The treatment of lung infiltration depends on the health condition that causes it, and whether the infiltration causes acute respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, as follows:

Diuretics and other heart failure medications are used to treat effusion caused by congestive heart failure.

Treatment of infiltration caused by malignant tumors may require chemotherapy, injections of medication into the chest, or radiation therapy.

Leakage causing respiratory symptoms may be drained using therapeutic thoracentesis, or via a tube in the chest called a thoracostomy tube.

Pleural sclerotherapy performed with sclerosing agents such as talc, doxycycline, and tetracycline is 50% successful in preventing recurrence of the lung infiltrates.