Airway wall thickness and pulmonary functions in patients with bronchial asthma: Assessment with high resolution computed tomography (HRCT).
- Author:
Seong Yong LIM
1
;
Jong Wook SHIN
;
Jae Yeol KIM
;
In Won PARK
;
Yang Soo KIM
;
Byoung Whui CHOI
Author Information
1. Department of Internal Medicine, Chung-Ang University, College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. bwchoimd@nownuri.net
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Airway wall thickness;
airway hyperresponsiveness;
pulmonary function;
high resolution computed tomography
- MeSH:
Asthma*;
Humans
- From:Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology
2003;23(3):494-501
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: The presence of airway wall thickening and its relationship with pulmonary functions or airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) have not yet been sufficiently clarified in bronchial asthma. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the relation of airway wall thickness to the pulmonary functions and AHR in patients with asthma. METHODS: After baseline measurement of pulmonary functions and PC20 in 24 patients, we measured airway wall thickness (T), internal diameter (d) using HRCT and calculated external diameter (D)[(D)=(d)+ 2x(T)]. We used the T/D ratio as a parameter for comparisons with pulmonary functions and PC20. RESULTS: We measured total 185 airways (upper;92, lower;93). The mean T/D ratio of small airways (diameter< 2mm;n=111) showed higher value than that of large airways (diameter>or=2mm;n=74) (0.324 +/- 0.028 vs 0.274 +/- 0.033, p<0.001). The mean T/D ratio of each subjects showed significant negative correlation with FEV1(% of predicted) in total (r=-0.407, p=0.048) and small airways (r=-0.468, p=0.024). PC20 showed a tendency of weak negative correlation with mean T/D ratio in small airways (r=-0.290, p=0.179). CONCLUSION: The thicker the airway wall is, the lower the FEV1 (% of predicted) in patients with bronchial asthma. Airway wall thickening occurred predominantly in the small airways.
