Pulmonary consolidation

Signs

• Expansion of the thorax on inspiration is reduced on the affected side
• Vocal fremitus is increased on the affected side
• Percussion is dull in the affected area
• Breath sounds are bronchial
• Possible medium, late, or pan-inspiratory crackles
• Vocal resonance is increased. Here, the patient's voice can be heard more clearly when there is consolidation, as opposed to the healthy lung where speech sounds muffled.
• A pleural rub may be present.
• A lower P_AO₂ than calculated in the alveolar gas equation

  Diagnosis

Radiology

• Typically, an area of white lung is seen on a standard X-ray. Consolidated tissue is more radio-opaque than normally aerated lung parenchyma, so that it is clearly demonstrable in radiography and on CT scans. Consolidation is often a middle-to-late stage feature/complication in pulmonary infections.