CT assessment of subtypes of pulmonary emphysema in females.

Abstract

We performed a retrospective study examining the prevalence and subtypes of pulmonary emphysema (PE) identified by computed tomography (CT) in females. We reviewed the records of 1,687 female subjects who had undergone CT. They were divided into the following 2 age groups:group A (＜50 years) and group B (≥50 years). PE was diagnosed by the presence of low-attenuation areas using visual assessment (grades 0-3) on CT images. Two subtypes of PE were observed:centrilobular emphysema (CLE) and paraseptal emphysema (PSE). PE was divided into the following 3 categories:I (CLE or CLE-predominant);II (CLE and PSE of equal extent);and III (PSE or PSE-predominant). PE was found in 64 of 274 smokers (23.3%) and 54 of 1,413 non-smokers (3.8%). In smoking subjects, when grades 1 and 2 were grouped together as mild PE, the mean age for CT grade 3 (severe PE) was significantly higher than that for mild PE. In group A, category III predominated, whereas category I was more prevalent in group B, in both smoking and non-smoking subjects. A high incidence of PE was found in smoking subjects as compared with non-smoking subjects. PSE predominated in younger subjects, whereas CLE predominated in older subjects.