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Question
45 year-old male complains of pleuritic chest pain following a "long" flight. What's the diagnosis and what's this sign called?
Answer
First described by Dr. Aubrey Hampton in 1940, hampton hump is a peripheral (pleural) based opacification found on chest X-ray; it occurs secondary to infarction of the lung
Although commonly associated pulmonary embolism it may occur secondary to other causes of lung infarction
Here are some other infrequent, but not rare signs, of pulmonary embolism on chest X-ray:
- Westermark sign: area of vascular cutoff distal to a pulmonary embolism
- Fleishner sign: an enlarged pulmonary artery
- Pleural effusion
References
http://radiopaedia.org
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