title: Quantitative bronchial luminal volumetric assessment of pulmonary function loss by thin-section MDCT in pulmonary emphysema patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the capability of quantitative bronchial luminal volume to assess pulmonary function loss and disease severity in pulmonary emphysema patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-seven smokers (mean age, 68.1 years) underwent CT examinations and pulmonary function tests. For the quantitative assessment, luminal voxels of trachea and bronchi were computationally counted and the ratio of the following luminal voxels to all luminal voxels was obtained: (1) the lobe bronchi and the peripheral bronchi (Ratio(lobe)), and (2) the main bronchi and the peripheral bronchi (Ratio(main)). To determine the capability of these assessments to predict pulmonary function loss, these ratios were correlated with pulmonary function tests. To determine the capability for predicting disease severity, these ratios were compared between clinical groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  These ratios were no significant correlated with vital capacity and forced vital capacity (FVC) (p > 0.05), however significantly correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV1) (Ratio(lobe): r = 0.61, p < 0.0001, Ratio(main): r = 0.58, p < 0.0005) and FEV1/FVC (Ratio(lobe): r = 0.36, p < 0.05, Ratio(main): r = 0.33, p < 0.05). The Ratio(lobe) of smokers without COPD was significantly different from those of moderate COPD and severe or very severe COPD (p < 0.05), while that of mild COPD was significantly different from that of severe or very severe COPD (p < 0.01). The Ratio(main) of severe or very severe COPD patients was significantly different from those of other groups (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quantitative bronchial luminal volumes were reflected the airflow limitation parameters and was corresponded to clinical groups in emphysema patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, 7-5-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0017, Japan. hkoyama@med.kobe-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hisanobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Koyama
authors.forename: Yoshiharu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohno
authors.forename: Youichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Onishi
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Takenaka
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: Mizuho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishio
authors.forename: Sumiaki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Kenya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Murase
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: Kazuro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugimura
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001995:Bronchography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011656:Pulmonary Emphysema / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*