Diffuse consolidation The most common cause of diffuse consolidation is pulmonary edema due to heart failure. This is also called cardiogenic edema, to differentiate it from the various causes of non-cardiogenic edema. The increased heart size is usually what distinguishes between cardiogenic and non-cardiogenic. Look for other signs of heart failure like redistribution of pulmonary blood flow, Kerley B-lines and pleural fluid. However some patients, who have an acute cardiac infarction, may still have a normal heart size, while other patients who have a large heart due to a chronic heart disease, may have non-cardiac pulmonary edema due to a superimposed pulmonay infection, ARDS, near-drowning etc. #Diagnosis #Radiology #Pulmonary #CXR #Diffuse #Consolidation #Differential #RadiologyAssistant
