The value of high resolution computed tomographic measurement of pulmonary small vessel area in pulmonary hypertension

Abstract

Objective To investigate the role of the percentage of the total cross-sectional area of small pulmonary vessels for the lung area (%CSA) from high resolution computed tomography(HRCT)in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) combined pulmonary hypertension(PH). Methods Twenty COPD combined PH patients and 20 normal subjects underwent chest HRCT scans and all data were analyzed retrospectively.COPD combined PH patients underwent pulmonary function tests (PFT), including forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1%) and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC), respectively.The %CSA less than 5 mm2 and 5~10 mm2 for the lung area (%CSA<5 and %CSA5~10) of small pulmonary vessels were measured with HRCT.Comparison of %CSA<5 and %CSA5~10 between the COPD combined PH and control groups were performed using t test.The correlation between % CSA and PFT was evaluated by the Spearman rank correlation test. Results %CSA 0.05). %CSA5~10 in COPD patients were not correlated negatively with both FEV1% and FEV1/FVC (r=-0.084, -0.724; P>0.05). Conclusion %CSA<5 and %CSA5~10 of COPD combined PH patients are higher than those of normal, they can be used as an index reflecting the severity of COPD combined PH. Key words: Lung diseases, chronic obstructive; Tomography, X-ray computed; Hypertension, pulmonary