Diagnostic étiologique d'une condensation pulmonaire chronique : apport de l'imagerie

Chronic lung congestion, a common situation in clinical practice, can have many origins. Here we describe the most common causes: infectious, benign non-infectious and malignant non-infectious diseases. Certain elements guiding diagnosis are discussed. For each etiology of chronic pneumonia, we recall the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms then detail the radiological features. Finally, means to confirm the diagnosis are described. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the importance of taking into account the clinical picture when interpreting imaging findings and reducing the differential diagnosis. Images from illustrative cases of chronic pneumonia are presented. Didactic summary tables highlight the radiological characteristics and associated signs of lung congestion by etiology.