scholarly journals Differences in regional air trapping in current smokers with normal spirometry

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 1600345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Karimi ◽  
Göran Tornling ◽  
Helena Forsslund ◽  
Mikael Mikko ◽  
Åsa M. Wheelock ◽  
...  

We investigated regional air trapping on computed tomography in current smokers with normal spirometry. It was hypothesised that presence of regional air trapping may indicate a specific manifestation of smoking-related changes.40 current smokers, 40 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 40 healthy never- smokers underwent computed tomography scans. Regional air trapping was assessed on end-expiratory scans and emphysema, micronodules and bronchial wall thickening on inspiratory scans. The ratio of expiratory and inspiratory mean lung attenuation (E/I) was calculated as a measure of static (fixed) air trapping.Regional air trapping was present in 63% of current smokers, in 45% of never smokers and in 8% of COPD patients (p<0.001). Current smokers with and without regional air trapping had E/I ratio of 0.81 and 0.91, respectively (p<0.001). Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) was significantly higher and emphysema less frequent in current smokers with regional air trapping.Current smokers with regional air trapping had higher FEV1 and less emphysema on computed tomography. In contrast, current smokers without regional air trapping resembled COPD. Our results highlight heterogeneity among smokers with normal spirometry and may contribute to early detection of smoking related structural changes in the lungs.

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 216-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristoffer Ostridge ◽  
Tom M.A. Wilkinson

Computed tomography (CT) is the modality of choice for imaging the thorax and lung structure. In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), it used to recognise the key morphological features of emphysema, bronchial wall thickening and gas trapping. Despite this, its place in the investigation and management of COPD is yet to be determined, and it is not routinely recommended. However, lung CT already has important clinical applications where it can be used to diagnose concomitant pathology and determine which patients with severe emphysema are appropriate for lung volume reduction procedures. Furthermore, novel quantitative analysis techniques permit objective measurements of pulmonary and extrapulmonary manifestations of the disease. These techniques can give important insights into COPD, and help explore the heterogeneity and underlying mechanisms of the condition. In time, it is hoped that these techniques can be used in clinical trials to help develop disease-specific therapy and, ultimately, as a clinical tool in identifying patients who would benefit most from new and existing treatments. This review discusses the current clinical applications for CT imaging in COPD and quantification techniques, and its potential future role in stratifying disease for optimal outcome.


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baykal Tulek ◽  
Ali Sami Kivrak ◽  
Seda Ozbek ◽  
Fikret Kanat ◽  
Mecit Suerdem

BACKGROUND: Identifying different phenotypes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is important for both therapeutic options and clinical outcome of the disease.OBJECTIVE: To characterize the phenotypes of COPD according to high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) findings; and to correlate HRCT scores obtained using the modified Bhalla scoring system with clinical and physiological indicators of systemic inflammation.METHODS: The present study included 80 consecutive patients with stable COPD. HRCT scans were evaluated by two independent radiologists according to the modified Bhalla scoring system.RESULTS: Fifty-four patients exhibited morphological changes on HRCT examination while 26 had no pathological findings. Patients with HRCT findings had lower spirometric measurements and higher levels of inflammation, and reported more exacerbations in the previous year compared with patients with no findings on HRCT. Patients with morphological changes were classified into one of three groups according to their HRCT phenotype(s): emphysema (E) only, E + bronchiectasis (B)/peribronchial thickening (PBT) or B/PBT only. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the number of exacerbations among the groups were significantly different. Pairwise comparisons between the E only and E+B/PBT groups showed significantly lower FVC, FEV1and FEV1/FVC values, and higher CRP levels and number of exacerbations compared with the B/PBT group. No significant differences were found between the E+B/PBT and the B/PBT groups. An inverse correlation was found between the total HRCT score and FVC, FEV1and FEV1/FVC; the correlation was positive with CRP level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and number of exacerbations.CONCLUSION: The present study exposed the intimate relationship between phenotype(s) characterized by HRCT and scoring for morphological abnormalities; and clinical and functional parameters and inflammatory markers. The inclusion of HRCT among routine examinations for COPD may provide significant benefits both in the management and prognosis of COPD patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (6) ◽  
pp. 1257-1266
Author(s):  
Thibaud Soumagne ◽  
Alicia Guillien ◽  
Nicolas Roche ◽  
Jean-Charles Dalphin ◽  
Bruno Degano

It is unknown whether or not never-smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) behave like their smoking counterparts during exercise. This is the first study showing that never-smokers with mild to moderate COPD [defined by a postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) < lower limit of normal] have preserved exercise capacities. They also have lower exertional dyspnea than patients with smoking-related COPD. This suggests that the two COPD groups should not be managed in the same way.


Author(s):  
Naoya Tanabe ◽  
Shizuo Kaji ◽  
Susumu Sato ◽  
Tomoo Yokoyama ◽  
Tsuyoshi Oguma ◽  
...  

Three-dimensional imaging is essential to evaluate local abnormalities and understand structure-function relationships in an organ. However, quantifiable and interpretable methods to localize abnormalities remain unestablished. Visual assessments are prone to bias, machine learning methods depend on training images, and the underlying decision principle is usually difficult to interpret. Here, we developed a homological approach to mathematically define emphysema and fibrosis in the lungs on computed tomography (CT). Using persistent homology, the density of homological features, including connected components, tunnels, and voids, was extracted from the volumetric CT scans of lung diseases. A pair of CT values at which each homological feature appeared (birth) and disappeared (death) was computed by sweeping the threshold levels from higher to lower CT values. Consequently, fibrosis and emphysema were defined as voxels with dense voids having a longer lifetime (birth-death difference) and voxels with dense connected components having a lower birth, respectively. In an independent dataset including subjects with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE), the proposed definition enabled accurate segmentation with comparable quality to deep learning in terms of Dice coefficients. Persistent homology-defined fibrosis was closely associated with physiological abnormalities such as impaired diffusion capacity and long-term mortality in subjects with IPF and CPFE, and persistent homology-defined emphysema was associated with impaired diffusion capacity in subjects with COPD. The present persistent homology-based evaluation of structural abnormalities could help explore the clinical and physiological impacts of structural changes and morphological mechanisms of disease progression.


2015 ◽  
Vol 308 (10) ◽  
pp. L1039-L1045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamoru Sasaki ◽  
Shotaro Chubachi ◽  
Naofumi Kameyama ◽  
Minako Sato ◽  
Mizuha Haraguchi ◽  
...  

Chronic cigarette smoke (CS) exposure provokes variable changes in the lungs, and emphysema is an important feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The usefulness of micro-computed tomography (CT) to assess emphysema in different mouse models has been investigated, but few studies evaluated the dynamic structural changes in a CS-induced emphysema mouse model. A novel micro-CT technique with respiratory and cardiac gating has resulted in high-quality images that enable processing for further quantitative and qualitative analyses. Adult female C57BL/6J mice were repeatedly exposed to mainstream CS, and micro-CT scans were performed at 0, 4, 12, and 20 wk. Emphysema was also histologically quantified at each time point. Air-exposed mice and mice treated with intratracheal elastase served as controls and comparisons, respectively. End-expiratory lung volume, corresponding to functional residual volume, was defined as the calculated volume at the phase of end-expiration, and it evaluated air trapping. The end-expiratory lung volumes of CS-exposed mice were significantly larger than those of air controls at 12 and 20 wk, which was in line with alveolar enlargement and destruction by histological quantification. However, CS exposure neither increased low attenuation volume nor decreased the average lung CT value at any time point, unlike the elastase-instilled emphysema model. CS-exposed mice had rather higher average lung CT values at 4 and 12 wk. This is the first study characterizing a CS-induced emphysema model on micro-CT over time in mice. Moreover, these findings extend our understanding of the distinct pathophysiology of CS-induced emphysema in mice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Li ◽  
Yong-liang Dai ◽  
Nan Yu ◽  
You-min Guo

Objective This study was performed to evaluate the effect of sex on bronchial parameters and the predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s expressed as a percentage of the forced vital capacity (FEV1% pred) on pulmonary function testing. Methods The data of 359 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with available FEV1% pred and computed tomography (CT) images were retrospectively reviewed. FACT-Digital lung TM software (DeXin, Xi’an, China) was used to perform fully automated three-dimensional CT quantitative measurements of the bronchi. Generation 5 to 7 bronchi were measured, and the parameters analyzed were the lumen diameter (LD), wall thickness (WT), lumen area (LA), and WA% [WA / (WA + LA) × 100%]. Results In the smoking, smoking cessation, and nonsmoking groups, women had a significantly larger WA% and smaller LD, WT, and LA than men. The FEV1% pred was significantly lower in women than men in the smoking and smoking cessation groups. The FEV1% pred was significantly higher in women than men in the nonsmoking group. Conclusion Sex-related differences may partially explain why smoking women experience more severe pulmonary function impairment than men among patients with COPD.


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