Clinical Presentation
A 52-year-old woman with abnormal chest radiographic findings after a motor vehicle accident.
Imaging Findings
(A–D) Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the chest: Axial (A, B), sagittal (C), and coronal (D) images demonstrate a distended stomach and a large air-fluid level in the left hemithorax in intimate relation with the left posterior ribs (asterisks). Ill-defined ground-glass parenchymal opacities are also noted diffusely affecting the left lung.
Differential Diagnosis
• Left diaphragmatic rupture: On CT, in a trauma patient who is supine, an intra-abdominal viscus lying immediately anterior to the posterior ribs is consistent with a ruptured diaphragm.
• Congenital diaphragmatic hernia:
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