title: Structural airway abnormalities in infants and young children with cystic fibrosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether the airway structure of infants and young children with cystic fibrosis (CF) differs from that of normal children by using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) imaging. Study design Full-inflation, controlled ventilation HRCT images of the lungs were obtained at four anatomic levels in 34 infants with CF (age, 2.4+/-1.4 years) and 20 control infants (age, 1.8+/-1.4 years). Short axis diameters of all clearly identifiable, round airway/vessel pairs were measured to obtain airway wall thickness (AWT), airway lumen diameter (ALD), and vessel diameter (VD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In infants with CF, mean AWT (+/-SD) was 0.58+/-0.13 mm, ALD was 1.31+/-0.56 mm, and VD was 1.62+/-0.58 mm. In control infants, mean AWT was 0.49+/-0.13 mm, ALD was 1.07+/-0.42 mm, and VD was 1.86+/-0.64 mm. Mean AWT and ALD were greater in children with CF than in normal subjects (P<.001). ALD:VD ratios increased with age in patients with CF compared with control subjects (P=.026).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The airways of infants and young children with CF have thicker walls and are more dilated than those of normal infants.
authors.affiliation: Children's Radiological Institute, Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, Ohio State University School of Medicine and Public Health, Children's Hospital and Children's Research Institute, Columbus, Ohio 43205-2696, USA. Flong@chi.osu.edu
authors.forename: Frederick R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Roger S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Castile
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001980:Bronchi / Q000473:pathology*; D001987:Bronchiectasis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D011175:Positive-Pressure Respiration / Q000379:methods; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011667:Pulmonary Veins / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods