Pseudomonas aeruginosa abscess masquerading as a slowly growing solitary pulmonary nodule.

The solitary pulmonary nodule is a challenging clinical problem. Steele (1964) reviewed 887 resected solitary nodules and found 53% granulomas, 36% malignant tumours, and 8% haematomas. This is by no means a complete list of all the causes of solitary pulmonary nodules but encompasses the vast majority of them. We have recently evaluated a patient with a nodule that had slowly enlarged over a period of more than 20 years and proved to be caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The case is summarized in this report because, to our knowledge, this organism has not previously been known to cause a solitary pulmonary nodule.