Missed endobronchial carcinoid tumor presenting as recurrent pneumonia

Overlooked lung tumors on imaging studies are not uncommon. It has become the most frequent cause of missed diagnosis and a major cause of medical litigation involving radiologists. Central endobronchial lesions have been shown to be the most often missed lesions at CT examination. We report a case of a patient who had recurrent pneumonia for past 5 years in which an endobronchial mass was missed in the previous imaging studies. Patient underwent lobectomy and histology revealed a typical carcinoid tumor.