clinical features
Last reviewed 01/2018
The clinical features of a lung abscess include:
- the symptoms and signs of a pneumonitis:
- shivers
- fever
- pleuritic chest pain
- general systemic upset, malaise and fatigue
- the discharge of the abscess into a bronchus:
- cough
- the sputum is copious and foul smelling
- the sputum is initially blood-stained but may become green or brown with time
- fever and malaise may abate in a chronic lung abscess
- clubbing, which may develop rapidly
- signs of a pleural effusion or consolidation
- pleural rub
- symptoms relating to metastatic abscesses e.g. cerebral