Abstract
Background: Multispiral computer-aided tomography (MSCT) allows to quantify the lung hyperinflation and hence assess the degree of lung function impairment in bronchial asthma (BA).
Aim: to estimate the possibilities of 3D MSCT-volumetry in diagnostics of the lung function impairment in asthmatics.
Methods: 136 BA patients were examined. With the help of postprocessing of MSCT results, the estimation of lungs inflation (in voxel) was done. The calculations were done under the developing 3D-models in a densitometric diapason from -850 HU and lower. The obtained results were compared with the spirography and bodyplethysmography data.
Results: in the control group of 15 healthy volunteers expiratory inflation (EI) of both lungs at the level of the residual volume (RV) was 82.7±17.2 vox. A significant increase of EI in asthmatics depending on the severity of the disease was found: 252.14±41.95 (p<0.05) in mild, 455.14±66 (p<0.05) in moderate and 1381.17±408.08 vox (p<0.001) in severe BA. The ratio of EI to inspiratory inflation (II) at the level of total lung capacity (TLC) was 1.88±0.42% in the control group, and 6.99±1.04% (p<0.01), 13.15±1.61% (p<0.01), 28.14±7.06% (p<0.001) in mild-to-severe BA. A close correlation of EI with RV (r=0.44; p<0.001), II with TLC (r=0.3; p<0.001), EI/II with RV/TLC (r=0.44; p<0.001), II with FVC (r=0.45; p<0.001) and II with FEV1 (r=0.29; p<0.01) was found. Dependence of inflation from the small airways patency was established: EI with FEV50 (r=-0,46; p<0,001), FEV75 (r=-0,19; p<0,05)
Conclusion: MSCT-volumetry can be used effectively in asthmatics for the estimation of impared lung function manifested by hyperinflation due to dysfunction of the small airways.
- © 2014 ERS