title: Assessment of remodeling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using imaging methods.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  While spirometry plays a key role in diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), imaging methods including endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and chest computed tomography (CT) appear to be useful for investigating structural changes in the lungs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate remodeling in COPD patients using EBUS and chest CT.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 33 patients with COPD, 15 patients with severe asthma, and 15 control subjects. All subjects underwent pulmonary function tests and bronchoscopy with EBUS to measure the total thickness of the bronchial wall and its layers. Additionally, in COPD patients, a chest CT was performed to measure total bronchial wall thickness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total bronchial wall thickness measured by EBUS in patients with COPD (1.192 ±0.079 mm) was significantly smaller than that in asthmatic patients (1.433 ±0.230 mm, P = 0.001) and significantly greater than in control subjects (1.099 ±0.095 mm, P = 0.04), and was positively correlated with residual volume (RV) / total lung capacity (r = 0.5, P = 0.02), RV (r = 0.6, P = 0.007), and RV (%) (r = 0.5, P = 0.05). The thickness of the bronchial wall layers in patients with COPD were as follows: L1 = 0.135 ±0.018 mm, L2 = 0.151 ±0.026 mm, and L3-5 = 0.906 ±0.065 mm. There was no correlation between the thickness of the bronchial wall layers and forced expiratory volume in 1 second.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study show that EBUS is a useful method for evaluating bronchial wall layers not only in asthma but also in COPD, and suggest that the pattern of remodeling differs in each of these diseases.
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Soja
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Łoboda
authors.forename: Sławomir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mikrut
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ćmiel
authors.forename: Iwona
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gross-Sondej
authors.forename: Karolina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Górka
authors.forename: Łukasz
authors.initials: Ł
authors.lastname: Kasper
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andrychiewicz
authors.forename: Grażyna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pulka
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sładek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D056151:Airway Remodeling; D001249:Asthma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed