2022 Volume 36 Issue 4 Pages 382-388
A 51-year-old woman maintained long-term remission of ulcerative colitis for 19 years. Chest computed tomography revealed a pulmonary mass with a low-density area in the left lower lobe. Because the mass was growing, the preoperative diagnosis was lung cancer, and lobectomy was performed. Histopathological findings showed inflammatory cell infiltration, an abscess, and a decrease in the number of goblet cells resembling intestinal lesions of active ulcerative colitis. Considering the clinical course of the patient, she was diagnosed with pulmonary granuloma associated with ulcerative colitis. Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with systemic extraintestinal manifestations, and it is difficult to diagnose a pulmonary lesion as a pulmonary manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease based on imaging findings. As pulmonary manifestations show varying histopathological findings, a definite diagnosis is often difficult with a small specimen; therefore, a surgical biopsy specimen is necessary for diagnosis.
