A cross-sectional study of lung volume development in pectus excavatum patients: estimating the total lung volume from chest computed tomograph using 3-dimensional volumetric reconstruction.
OBJECTIVE
This study quantified the lung volume development of pectus excavatum (PE) patients using chest computed tomography (CT) 3-dimensional volumetric reconstructions. The technique permits current and retrospective analyses of data from different institutions.


METHODS
We analyzed the records of PE patients who underwent chest CT preoperatively between 2005 and 2009 at 3 institutions. All patients were Chinese. A window of -992 to -198 Hounsfield units was chosen for calculating the CT total lung volume (TLV). The data were compared with the data for 73 microtia and other chest-wall tumor patients studied during the same period as a control group.


RESULTS
In total, 377 PE patients with Haller pectus index (PI) of at least 3.2 were identified for this study. Compared with the reported TLV data for 1050 healthy children and our control group, we found little evidence of a decreased TLV in PE patients at any age for either sex. The mean PI did not change significantly between the ages of 3 and 27 years. The PI was inversely correlated with the TLV (P < .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Our cross-sectional study provides evidence that the TLV of PE patients is within the reference range in children and adolescents.
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Beijing Children Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Qi
Q
Zeng
Jin-Yao
JY
Lai
Chao-Jan
CJ
Wang
Hsiao-Yang
HY
Cheng
Chih-Chun
CC
Chu
Chee-Jen
CJ
Chang
Pin-Hsiu
PH
Chiu
Zung-Chung
ZC
Chen
Pei-Yeh
PY
Chang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005660:Funnel Chest / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008176:Lung Volume Measurements; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult