atypical pneumonia

Last reviewed 01/2018

Atypical pneumonias are characterised by a lack of exudate into alveoli. Instead, the interstitium of the lung is inflamed with a polymorphonuclear cell influx. Typically, consolidation is lacking and chest radiograms are patchily and densely shadowed out of proportion to the severity of clinical features.

Atypical pneumonias include those of:

  • aspergillosis
  • actinomycosis
  • chlamydial pneumonia
  • coxiella burnetti pneumonia
  • cytomegalovirus
  • Legionnaire's disease
  • measles
  • mycoplasma pneumonia
  • pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
  • tuberculosis
  • varicella