Acute venous thromboembolic disease
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Believing that the target of heparin is the already embolized clot (preventing its extension in the pulmonary vasculature) • Missing the most common abnormal chest…
Lung cancer
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Believing that IV contrast is required to screen for pathologic mediastinal adenopathy • Being reassured about a lesion that has demonstrated growth over time because…
Oral anaerobic lung infection, aspiration pneumonia, lung abscess, and empyema
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Using the term “aspiration” without clearly defining the clinical aspiration syndrome you are concerned with • Believing that aspiration pneumonia is solely a disease of…
Invasive mechanical ventilation
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Believing that patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) require advanced modes of mechanical ventilation (eg, airway pressure release ventilation [APRV]) • Changing the ventilator…
Sarcoidosis
Common misconceptions and mistakes • The stages of sarcoid reflect disease progression (stage 1, early disease; stage 4, late disease) • Pulmonary sarcoidosis is a steroid-responsive disease • Believing that…
Pneumothorax and bronchopleural fistulas: air in the pleural space
Common misconceptions and mistakes • The proper way to screen for a pneumothorax (PTX) is by looking for areas on the chest x-ray (CXR) that do not have lung markings…
Aspergillus lung disease
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Confusing an aspergilloma or fungus ball with chronic fibrosing pulmonary aspergillosis • Failing to make the distinction between allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and asthma with…
Cough syncope
Common misconceptions and mistakes • Believing that cough syncope is caused by coughing-induced vagal tone and bradycardia, leading to systemic hypotension and syncope (ie, vasovagal syncope as a result of…
