Small-airways diseases: detection and insights with computed tomography

Imaging ◽  
2004 ◽  
pp. 106-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ujita ◽  
D.M. Hansell
Respiration ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (6) ◽  
pp. 539-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsuyoshi Oguma ◽  
Akio Niimi ◽  
Toyohiro Hirai ◽  
Makiko Jinnai ◽  
Hisako Matsumoto ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (157) ◽  
pp. 190163
Author(s):  
Davide Elia ◽  
Olga Torre ◽  
Roberto Cassandro ◽  
Antonella Caminati ◽  
Sergio Harari

Diffuse cystic lung diseases include a group of heterogeneous disorders characterised by the presence of cysts within the lung parenchyma, sometimes showing a characteristic computed tomography scan pattern that allows diagnosis. The pathogenetic mechanisms underlying cyst formation in the lung are still not clear and a number of hypotheses have been postulated according to the different aetiologies: ball-valve effect, ischaemic dilatation of small airways and alveoli related to infiltration and obstruction of small vessels and capillaries that supply the terminal bronchioles and connective tissue degradation by matrix metalloproteases. A wide number of lung cyst diseases have been classified into six diagnostic groups according to the aetiology: neoplastic, congenital/genetic, lymphoproliferative, infective, associated with interstitial lung diseases, and other causes. This article focuses on lymphangioleiomyomatosis, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis and Erdheim–Chester disease, Birt–Hogg–Dubé, follicular bronchiolitis and lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia, light-chain deposition disease and amyloidosis, congenital lung disease associated with aberrant lung development and growth, and cystic lung disease associated with neoplastic lesion. These cystic diseases are epidemiologically considered as ultra-rare conditions as they affect fewer than one individual per 50 000 or fewer than 20 individuals per million. Despite the rarity of this group of disorders, the increasing use of high-resolution computed tomography has improved the diagnostic yield, even in asymptomatic patients allowing prompt and correct therapy and management without the need for a biopsy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 128 (6) ◽  
pp. 1604-1616
Author(s):  
Dragoş M. Vasilescu ◽  
André B. Phillion ◽  
Daisuke Kinose ◽  
Stijn E. Verleden ◽  
Bart M. Vanaudenaerde ◽  
...  

Stereology has been the gold standard to quantify the three-dimensional lung anatomy using two-dimensional microscopy images. However, such techniques are labor intensive. This study provides a method that applies stereology to volumetric computed tomography images of frozen whole human lungs and systematic uniform random samples. The method yielded a comprehensive data set on the small airways and parenchymal lung structures, highlighting morphometric sex differences and providing a reference data set for future pathological studies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-176
Author(s):  
Ilaria Bernardeschi ◽  
Daniele Della Latta ◽  
Giovanna Letizia Di Girolamo ◽  
Vincenzo Positano ◽  
Michela Guadagni ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sujeong Kim ◽  
Sanghun Choi ◽  
Taewoo Kim ◽  
Kwang Nam Jin ◽  
Sang-Heon Cho ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Asthma comprises heterogeneous inflammatory airway disorders whose classification has not been established. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) methods can differentiate lung disease using accurate assessment of location, extent, and severity of the disease. This study aimed to identify heterogeneous asthmatic groups by QCT metrics of airway and parenchymal structure, which is associated with radiologists’ visual analysis and bronchodilator responses in a prospective design.Methods: Using the input from QCT-based metrics, including hydraulic diameter (Dh), luminal wall thickness (WT), functional small airway disease (fSAD), and emphysematous lung (Emph), a cluster analysis was performed and compared with grouping based on site of airway involvement and remodeling evaluated by radiologists.Results: 61 asthmatics were grouped into four clusters with different clinical severities. From C1 to C4, more severe lung function deterioration, higher fixed obstruction rate, and more frequent asthma exacerbation in 5-year follow-up were observed. C1 presented non-severe asthma with increased WT, Dh of proximal airways, and fSAD. C2 was mixed with non-severe and severe asthma, which had reserved bronchodilator responses of proximal airways. C3 and C4 presented severe asthmatics that exhibited reduced Dh of proximal airway and its bronchodilator responsiveness; C3 was severe allergic asthma without fSAD, while C4 was ex-smokers with significantly high fSAD% and Emph%. These clusters were correlated with the grouping by radiologists and their clinical outcomes.Conclusions: Four QCT imaging-based clusters with distinct structural and functional changes in proximal and small airways can stratify heterogeneous asthmatics and may serve as complementary tools for predicting future asthma outcomes.


2006 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. 1019-1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
T UEDA ◽  
A NIIMI ◽  
H MATSUMOTO ◽  
M TAKEMURA ◽  
T HIRAI ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 318 (6) ◽  
pp. L1222-L1228
Author(s):  
Senani N. H. Rathnayake ◽  
Firdaus A. A. Mohamed Hoesein ◽  
Craig J. Galban ◽  
Nick H. T. ten Hacken ◽  
Brian G. G. Oliver ◽  
...  

Parametric response mapping (PRM) is a computed tomography (CT)-based method to phenotype patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is capable of differentiating emphysema-related air trapping with nonemphysematous air trapping (small airway disease), which helps to identify the extent and localization of the disease. Most studies evaluating the gene expression in smokers and COPD patients related this to spirometric measurements, but none have investigated the relationship with CT-based measurements of lung structure. The current study aimed to examine gene expression profiles of brushed bronchial epithelial cells in association with the PRM-defined CT-based measurements of emphysema (PRMEmph) and small airway disease (PRMfSAD). Using the Top Institute Pharma (TIP) study cohort (COPD = 12 and asymptomatic smokers = 32), we identified a gene expression signature of bronchial brushings, which was associated with PRMEmph in the lungs. One hundred thirty-three genes were identified to be associated with PRMEmph. Among the most significantly associated genes, CXCL11 is a potent chemokine involved with CD8+ T cell activation during inflammation in COPD, indicating that it may play an essential role in the development of emphysema. The PRMEmph signature was then replicated in two independent data sets. Pathway analysis showed that the PRMEmph signature is associated with proinflammatory and notch signaling pathways. Together these findings indicate that airway epithelium may play a role in the development of emphysema and/or may act as a biomarker for the presence of emphysema. In contrast, its role in relation to functional small airways disease is less clear.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 175346661989859
Author(s):  
Mateusz Patyk ◽  
Andrzej Obojski ◽  
Dąbrówka Sokołowska-Dąbek ◽  
Martyna Parkitna-Patyk ◽  
Urszula Zaleska-Dorobisz

Background: Asthma is a frequent chronic disease of the airways. In spite of the fact that symptoms of asthma are well known, the pathogenesis has not yet been fully understood. Quantitative computed tomography (qCT) of the lung allows for the measurment of a set of parameters. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of quantitative computed tomography in the assessment of airway wall thickness in asthma. Methods: The prospective study was performed on a group of 83 patients with well-defined, long-term asthma between 2016 and 2018. The control group was composed of 30 healthy volunteers. All examined subjects were non-smokers. All computed tomography (CT) studies were performed using a 128 multi-slice CT scanner with no contrast, following a chest scanning protocol in the supine position, at full inspiration and breath-holds. Results: Quantitative bronchial tree measurements were obtained from the third up to the ninth generation of the posterior basal bronchi (B10) of the right lung in a blinded fashion. The value of the wall thickness in patients with asthma was significantly higher in all measured generations of the bronchial tree (third to ninth generation). The lumen area and the inner diameter significantly correlated with the lung function tests and were substantially smaller in the examined group from the seventh to the ninth generation of the bronchi ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: We conclude that airway remodelling occurs in most patients with long-term asthma and is associated mainly with the medium and small airways. Imaging techniques, especially qCT can be useful in the diagnosis and management of asthma. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.


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