The roentgen characteristics of pulmonary paragonimiasis.

Two hundred and twenty-seven patients with pulmonary paragonimiasis were studied from a roentgenographic standpoint to ascertain whether or not characteristic patterns exist. The study was prompted by the impression that paragonimiasis did at times produce lesions which were roentgenographically indicative of the disease. Chest roentgenograms were available for study on 227 Korean prisoners of war whose sputum smears were positive for the ova of Paragonimus westermani and negative for tubercle bacilli on repeated examinations. No instance of paragonimiasis with known concomitant pulmonary dis-ease was included in this series. The number of films available in individual cases varied from one to eight, the average being 1.9. A roentgenographic-pathologic typing of the lesions was made, based on the recognition of the following features and components as seen in all available films in each case: cyst formation, fibrosis, exudation, pleural disease without effusion, a dense or solid appearance, and effusion. ...