title: Recent findings in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by using quantitative computed tomography.
abstract: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by an incompletely reversible airflow limitation that results from a combination of airway wall remodeling and emphysematous lung destruction. Forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV(1)) has been considered the gold standard for diagnosis, classification, and follow-up in patients with COPD, but it has certain limitations and it is still necessary to find other noninvasive modalities to complement FEV(1) to evaluate the effect of therapeutic interventions and the pathogenesis of COPD. Quantitative computed tomography (CT) has partly met this demand. The extent of emphysema and airway dimensions measured using quantitative CT are associated with morphological and functional changes and clinical symptoms in patients with COPD. Phenotyping COPD based on quantitative CT has facilitated interventional and genotypic studies. Recent advances in COPD findings with quantitative CT are discussed in this review.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory Medicine, Department of Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science, Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga 520-2192, Japan.
authors.forename: Nguyen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Van Tho
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Emiko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Yasutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakano
mesh_terms: D004646:Emphysema / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed