Compute tomography-based quantitative evaluation of pneumoconiosis / 南方医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the value of compute tomography (CT)-based quantitative assessment in the diagnosis of pneumoconiosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty patients with pneumoconiosis and 40 healthy volunteers (control) underwent CT scanning at the levels of the top of the aortic arch, tracheal carina, and 3 cm and 6 cm below the tracheal carina. All the CT images were analyzed with density histograms for a specific region to calculate the mean lung CT value (ME) and pixel index for assessment of lung density changes.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>At the levels of the top of the aortic arch and 6 cm below the tracheal carina, the pixel indices in the 10 CT threshold density intervals within -832 to -352 HU was all significantly higher in pneumoconiosis group than in the control group (P<0.05). At the levels of the tracheal carina and 3 cm below the tracheal carina, the 11 pixel indices in the CT threshold density intervals within -880 to -352 HU were also significantly higher in pneumoconiosis group (P<0.05). At all the 4 scan levels, the pixel indices in the 10 intervals between -880 and -352 HU were all significantly higher in pneumoconiosis group (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CT density histograms allow quantitative evaluation of lung fibrosis in patients with pneumoconiosis for diagnostic purposes.</p>