title: A new scoring system for computed tomography of the chest for assessing the clinical status of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop a new scoring system for computed tomography (CT) of the chest for assessing the clinical status of patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in comparison with a modified Edwards roentgenographic scoring system.
  
  
  METHODS
  Preterm infants diagnosed with BPD (n = 42) were assessed prospectively by chest CT scan at the time of discharge. Three radiologists classified the CT findings into 1 of 3 categories--hyperexpansion, emphysema, or fibrous/interstitial abnormalities--and developed a new scoring system. We assessed interobserver reproducibility and investigated whether this classification system reflected the severity of BPD in these patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The CT scores had acceptable reproducibility (coefficient of correlation [cc] = 0.721 to 0.839). The subgroup with a more severe form of BPD had a higher CT score. The CT score correlated with the clinical score at 36 weeks of postmenstrual age (cc = 0.367) and the duration of oxygen therapy (cc = 0.537). Patients who were discharged home on oxygen had higher CT scores than patients who were not.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The new chest CT scoring system may have higher objectivity and accuracy in terms of predischarge assessment of clinical status as well as prediction of the prognosis of patients with BPD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. ochimasa@pediatr.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ochiai
authors.forename: Shunji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hikino
authors.forename: Hidetake
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yabuuchi
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Shouichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohga
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hara
mesh_terms: D001997:Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015588:Observer Variation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed