U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination

Air crescent

MedGen UID:
1781132
•Concept ID:
C5539749
•
Finding
HPO: HP:0033661

Definition

An air crescent is a collection of air in a crescentic shape that separates the wall of a cavity from an inner mass. The air crescent sign is often considered characteristic of either Aspergillus colonization of preexisting cavities or retraction of infarcted lung in angioinvasive aspergillosis. However, the air crescent sign has also been reported in other conditions, including tuberculosis, Wegener granulomatosis, intracavitary hemorrhage, and lung cancer. [from HPO]

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Applicability of the EORTC/MSG criteria for IFD in clinical practice.
Rieger H, Lustig D, Barlow S, Ostermann H, Fiegl M, Peterson L, Rieger CT
Ann Hematol 2015 May;94(5):847-55. Epub 2014 Dec 30 doi: 10.1007/s00277-014-2282-y. PMID: 25544029
New developments in the diagnosis and management of invasive fungal infections.
De Marie S
Haematologica 2000 Jan;85(1):88-93. PMID: 10629598
Intrathoracic aspergilloma: role of CT in diagnosis and treatment.
Roberts CM, Citron KM, Strickland B
Radiology 1987 Oct;165(1):123-8. doi: 10.1148/radiology.165.1.3628758. PMID: 3628758

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Clinical characteristics and CT manifestations of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in hospitalised patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Suwatanapongched T, Visoottiviseth Y, Watcharananan SP, Kanoksil W, Muntham D, Pornsuriyasak P
Clin Radiol 2021 Jul;76(7):548.e13-548.e23. Epub 2021 Feb 18 doi: 10.1016/j.crad.2021.01.006. PMID: 33610288
Clinicopathological and multisection CT features of primary pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma.
Cheng DL, Hu YX, Hu PQ, Wen G, Liu K
Clin Radiol 2017 Jul;72(7):610.e1-610.e7. Epub 2017 Mar 11 doi: 10.1016/j.crad.2017.02.007. PMID: 28292512
Signs in chest imaging.
Algın O, Gökalp G, Topal U
Diagn Interv Radiol 2011 Mar;17(1):18-29. Epub 2010 Jul 28 doi: 10.4261/1305-3825.DIR.2901-09.1. PMID: 20669122
Spherules, hyphae, and air-crescent sign.
Tonelli AR, Khalife WT, Cao M, Young VB
Am J Med Sci 2008 Jun;335(6):504-6. doi: 10.1097/MAJ.0b013e3181585439. PMID: 18552586
Varied radiologic appearances of pulmonary aspergillosis.
Thompson BH, Stanford W, Galvin JR, Kurihara Y
Radiographics 1995 Nov;15(6):1273-84. doi: 10.1148/radiographics.15.6.8577955. PMID: 8577955

Diagnosis

Lung and sinus fungal infection imaging in immunocompromised patients.
Lamoth F, Prakash K, Beigelman-Aubry C, Baddley JW
Clin Microbiol Infect 2024 Mar;30(3):296-305. Epub 2023 Aug 20 doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2023.08.013. PMID: 37604274
Diabetes mellitus and air crescent sign.
Sandal R, Jandial A, Mishra K, Khadwal A, Malhotra P
QJM 2019 Jan 1;112(1):47-48. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcy170. PMID: 30060243
Infectious and Non-Infectious Diseases Causing the Air Crescent Sign: A State-of-the-Art Review.
Sevilha JB, Rodrigues RS, Barreto MM, Zanetti G, Hochhegger B, Marchiori E
Lung 2018 Feb;196(1):1-10. Epub 2017 Nov 15 doi: 10.1007/s00408-017-0069-3. PMID: 29143119
Signs in chest imaging.
Algın O, Gökalp G, Topal U
Diagn Interv Radiol 2011 Mar;17(1):18-29. Epub 2010 Jul 28 doi: 10.4261/1305-3825.DIR.2901-09.1. PMID: 20669122
Pulmonary mucormycosis.
Murphy RA, Miller WT Jr
Semin Roentgenol 1996 Jan;31(1):83-7. doi: 10.1016/s0037-198x(96)80043-5. PMID: 8838948

Therapy

Diabetes mellitus and air crescent sign.
Sandal R, Jandial A, Mishra K, Khadwal A, Malhotra P
QJM 2019 Jan 1;112(1):47-48. doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hcy170. PMID: 30060243
Pulmonary infiltrate with characteristic "reversed halo" and "air crescent" signs.
Imburgia C, Buscemi C, Corrao S
Eur J Intern Med 2017 Jun;41:e3-e4. Epub 2016 Dec 12 doi: 10.1016/j.ejim.2016.12.005. PMID: 27979669
Air crescent sign not caused by fungal or tuberculous infection.
Chen JY, Wei YF
Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2014 Aug 1;190(3):e10-1. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201309-1698IM. PMID: 25084268
Clinics in diagnostic imaging (102).
Azeemuddin M, Ul-Haq T, Ahsan H, Memon WA
Singapore Med J 2005 Feb;46(2):93-9; quiz 100. PMID: 15678293
CT signs and patterns of lung disease.
Collins J
Radiol Clin North Am 2001 Nov;39(6):1115-35. doi: 10.1016/s0033-8389(05)70334-1. PMID: 11699664

Prognosis

Lung and sinus fungal infection imaging in immunocompromised patients.
Lamoth F, Prakash K, Beigelman-Aubry C, Baddley JW
Clin Microbiol Infect 2024 Mar;30(3):296-305. Epub 2023 Aug 20 doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2023.08.013. PMID: 37604274
Clinical characteristics and CT manifestations of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in hospitalised patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Suwatanapongched T, Visoottiviseth Y, Watcharananan SP, Kanoksil W, Muntham D, Pornsuriyasak P
Clin Radiol 2021 Jul;76(7):548.e13-548.e23. Epub 2021 Feb 18 doi: 10.1016/j.crad.2021.01.006. PMID: 33610288
Clinicopathological and multisection CT features of primary pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma.
Cheng DL, Hu YX, Hu PQ, Wen G, Liu K
Clin Radiol 2017 Jul;72(7):610.e1-610.e7. Epub 2017 Mar 11 doi: 10.1016/j.crad.2017.02.007. PMID: 28292512
Pneumonia in febrile neutropenic patients: radiologic diagnosis.
Maschmeyer G
Curr Opin Oncol 2001 Jul;13(4):229-35. doi: 10.1097/00001622-200107000-00004. PMID: 11429479
Varied radiologic appearances of pulmonary aspergillosis.
Thompson BH, Stanford W, Galvin JR, Kurihara Y
Radiographics 1995 Nov;15(6):1273-84. doi: 10.1148/radiographics.15.6.8577955. PMID: 8577955

Clinical prediction guides

Lung and sinus fungal infection imaging in immunocompromised patients.
Lamoth F, Prakash K, Beigelman-Aubry C, Baddley JW
Clin Microbiol Infect 2024 Mar;30(3):296-305. Epub 2023 Aug 20 doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2023.08.013. PMID: 37604274
Aspergilloma Morphology on Computed Tomography Angiography and its Clinical Impact in Patients of Haemoptysis.
Korukanti PK, Bhalla AS, Goyal A, Naranje P, Guleria R, Mohan A, Singh UB
Curr Probl Diagn Radiol 2022 Sep-Oct;51(5):699-706. Epub 2022 Jan 25 doi: 10.1067/j.cpradiol.2022.01.009. PMID: 35210159
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with solid tumours: risk factors and predictors of clinical outcomes.
Dandachi D, Wilson Dib R, Fernández-Cruz A, Jiang Y, Chaftari AM, Hachem R, Raad I
Ann Med 2018 Dec;50(8):713-720. Epub 2018 Sep 29 doi: 10.1080/07853890.2018.1518581. PMID: 30230385
Clinicopathological and multisection CT features of primary pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma.
Cheng DL, Hu YX, Hu PQ, Wen G, Liu K
Clin Radiol 2017 Jul;72(7):610.e1-610.e7. Epub 2017 Mar 11 doi: 10.1016/j.crad.2017.02.007. PMID: 28292512
Pulmonary mucormycosis: the last 30 years.
Lee FY, Mossad SB, Adal KA
Arch Intern Med 1999 Jun 28;159(12):1301-9. doi: 10.1001/archinte.159.12.1301. PMID: 10386506

Supplemental Content

Table of contents

    Clinical resources

    Practice guidelines

    • PubMed
      See practice and clinical guidelines in PubMed. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.

    Consumer resources

    Reviews

    Recent activity

    Clear Turn Off Turn On

    Your browsing activity is empty.

    Activity recording is turned off.

    Turn recording back on

    See more...