Chronic pulmonary disorders in sickle cell disease: findings at thin-section CT.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the non-acute abnormalities seen at computed tomography (CT) in patients with sickle cell (SC) disease and a prior history of acute chest syndrome (ACS)-pneumonia.


METHODS
Twenty-nine patients with SC disease who had experienced one to more than 10 (median, six) previous episodes of ACS-pneumonia were prospectively studied with thin-section CT of the thorax. Scans were graded for interstitial disease and assigned a disease index ranging from 0 to 3. Twenty-four patients underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and measurement of their blood gasses.


RESULTS
Twelve of the 29 patients (41%) had significant interstitial disease that was multifocal. A correlation was found between the disease index and number of episodes of ACS-pneumonia (P = .02) but not between the disease index and PFT results.


CONCLUSIONS
Thin-section CT demonstrates significant multifocal interstitial lung abnormalities in 41% of selected patients with SC disease. The pattern is most consistent with scarring from episodes of infarction or infection.
Department of Radiology, University of California San Francisco 94143-0628.
S L
SL
Aquino
G
G
Gamsu
J V
JV
Fahy
S
S
Claster
S H
SH
Embury
W C
WC
Mentzer
E P
EP
Vichinsky
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed