Cytomegalovirus pneumonitis. An unusual cause of pulmonary nodules in a patient with AIDS.

A patient with AIDS and a history of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma developed a generalized illness associated with the appearance of multiple pulmonary nodules on a chest radiograph. Cytomegalovirus infection was demonstrated by needle aspiration cytology. The patient's symptoms and radiographic abnormalities resolved completely on ganciclovir therapy. This unusual case (1) broadens the differential diagnosis of nodular pulmonary disease in patients with AIDS and (2) suggests that cytomegalovirus can cause clinically significant lung disease which may respond to standard antiviral therapy in patients with AIDS.