High-Resolution Computed Tomography of the Lungs: A Pattern Approach

Edited by D. Karthikeyan
Published by London, Hodder Arnold 2006
Pages: 223. Price: \#8364;75.00, $94.55. ISBN: 0-340-90580-8

High-Resolution Computed Tomography of the Lungs: A Pattern Approach
“High-Resolution Computed Tomography of the Lungs: A Pattern Approach” enters into the increasingly long line of books dealing with high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). The expanding clinical applications of this fascinating imaging technique certainly justify the newly emerging publications dedicated to this topic. The book is accompanied by a CD.

The first part of the book is dedicated to computed tomography (CT) techniques and details examination protocols for HRCT. This section is unlikely to be of general interest to the respiratory physician. The second part of the book is devoted to the general classification of lung diseases, and readily complements the existing clinical literature on this topic. The third part of the book includes 102 pathological entities and HRCT signs that are dealt with in a case-by-case fashion. From this perspective, the main body of the book is an ample radiological case collection that illustrates typical and uncommon HRCT findings. Without doubt, it is this section of the book that readers from the pulmonological community will pay most attention to. Finally, the appendix provides clues for diagnostic approaches to groups of disorders, such as “cystic and cavitary disease”, and to radiological signs specific for HRCT, such as “ground-glass opacities”.

The index of the book is excellent and allows easy navigation through the entire text. The quality of paper and print is good. Unfortunately, the quality of a substantial number of radiological figures is poor. This is amplified by the fact that the figures are small and often lack comprehensive labelling. Moreover, the book rarely displays more than one or two examples per pathological entity, which biases the illustrations towards “typical” cases and fails to illustrate the entire spectrum of a given disorder. The text itself is simple and easy to follow, although some wording belonging to older nomenclatures, such as “end-stage lung”, could have been avoided. The text includes several lists of differential diagnoses and potential causes for given CT abnormalities. This feature should be helpful in daily clinical routine.

Overall, this book is a nice complement to the existing literature on HRCT of the lungs. Although it contains ample technical information, the main body of the book represents an interesting case collection of HRCT images that can be of both didactical and practical value for the respiratory physician.