December chest CT - Fungal Pneumonia

On September 7th, I went to the emergency room with a suspected partial small bowel obstruction.  They took an abdominal CT to look for the cause of my pain - which was a partial small bowel obstruction.  However, this scan also imaged the lower part of my lungs and discovered nodules in my lungs.

On Monday 12/22/2014, I got a second chest CT scan to determine the progress of my pneumonia.  Since I have copies of both CT scans, I attempted to match images with similar chest structures between these two dates.  I haven't gotten the radiologists or my doctor's report on these scans yet but I thought I'd share my own findings.

As with Crohn's Disease my pneumonia doesn't seem to be healing in a linear fashion.  My 9/7/2014 scans included slices that looked much worse than those from 12/22/2014.  However, I chose these four slices because they adequately show the progress of the pneumonia.

First Slice

The pneumonia looks almost identical in these two frames even to the point of one of the nodules possessing fluid.

9/7/2014 Image 1 - 2 nodules

12/22/2014 Image 1 - 2 nodules

Second Slice

The second slice shows a dramatic worsening - with more (the original 2 increased to 5 nodules) and larger nodules.  The 12/22/2014 image shows fluid within one of the larger nodules.

9/7/2014 Image 2 - Two nodules

12/22/2014 Image 2 - 5 nodules, one fluid filled

Third Slice

The third slice shows an increase in the number (from 3 large to 6 smaller) of nodules.  However, the percent of lung affected by infection decreased.

9/7/2014 Image 3 - Three large nodules

12/22/2014 Image 3 - Six small nodules

Fourth Slice

The fourth slice shows dramatic improvement from 10 nodules to just 1 nodule and a huge decrease in the area of the lung affected by infection.

9/7/2014 Image 4 - Ten nodules

12/22/2014 Image 4 - One small nodule

I'll write an update to this when I hear from my doctor or radiologist.  Until then I'll have to remain on the Fluconazole.

I'm concerned that my lack of progress will force me to continue treatment for 12 months - which means not treating my Crohn's over that period.