Assessment of COPD severity by computed tomography: correlation with lung functional testing

Received 10 February 2009; received in revised form 1 May 2009; accepted 30 May 2009. published online 10 July 2009.

Abstract

CT scans of 474 patients with suspected chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were retrospectively evaluated by automated software. There was a correlation between the total lung capacity (TLC) and the total lung volume (TLV) (r=.675, P<.001), between the TLC and the total emphysema volume (r=.571, P<.001), as well as between the TLC and the emphysema index (r=.532, P<.001), respectively. The correlation between the TLC and the TLV was dependent on the COPD severity according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease classification (χ2=6.3079, P=.043). The TLC allows a prediction of clinical illness severity.

Keywords: Lung, Computed tomography, Emphysema, Obstructive lung disease

a Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospitals Ulm, Ulm, Germany

b Institute of Biometrics, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

c Medical Clinic I, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Germany

d CT-Clinical Science, Philips Medical Systems, Cleveland, OH, USA

e Department of Pneumology, Red Cross Hospital Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

Corresponding author. Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospitals of Ulm, Robert-Koch-Str. 8, D-89081 Ulm, Germany. Tel.: +49 731 500 61103; fax: +49 731 500 61105.

PII: S0899-7071(09)00121-1

doi:10.1016/j.clinimag.2009.05.004

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