We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




Chest CT Helps Evaluate COPD Mortality Risk

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 20 Apr 2021
Print article
Image: Axial chest CT showing PM, SAT, and IMAT areas (arrowheads) (Photo courtesy of RSNA)
Image: Axial chest CT showing PM, SAT, and IMAT areas (arrowheads) (Photo courtesy of RSNA)
Chest computerized tomography (CT) scans to identify body fat composition can aid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) evaluation, claims a new study.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD; USA), Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU-SOM; Baltimore, MD, USA), and other institutions conducted a secondary analysis of data from 2,994 participants (mean age 69 years; 1,551 women) from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, who had chest CT available from 2010–2012. The participants were analyzed to determine subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT), and pectoralis muscle (PM) areas.

Spirometry evaluations of the patients were used to establish COPD diagnosis, and mortality data were extracted from the U.S. National Death Index (April 2010 to December 2017). Of the study participants, 265 suffered from COPD (9%), of whom 49 (18%) died during follow-up. The researchers then searched for correlations of the soft-tissue markers and COPD risk of mortality. The results revealed that higher subcutaneous adipose tissue was associated with lower risks of all-cause mortality in the COPD patients, whereas higher intermuscular adipose tissue was associated with higher mortality rates. The study was published on April 6, 2012, in Radiology.

“Compared with subcutaneous adipose tissue quantification, intermuscular adipose tissue may be a better marker for predicting all-cause mortality in patients with COPD, as it is an indicator of other underlying comorbidities, such as diabetes and hypertension,” concluded lead author Farhad Pishgar, MD, of JHU, and colleagues. “In theory, CT-derived body composition assessments would provide an opportunity for earlier interventions in patients who face a higher risk of adverse health events.”

COPD is a debilitating lung disease that limits the flow of air to and from the lungs, causing shortness of breath. In contrast to asthma, the characteristically low airflow on lung function tests is poorly reversible and is characterized by occasional sudden worsening of symptoms called acute exacerbations, most of which are caused by infections or air pollution. COPD is usually caused by noxious particles or gas, most commonly from tobacco smoking, which trigger an abnormal inflammatory response in the lung.

Related Links:
University of California San Diego
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine


Gold Member
Solid State Kv/Dose Multi-Sensor
AGMS-DM+
Under Table Shield
3 Section Double Pivot Under Table Shield
Gold Member
Radiation QA Tool
Accu-Gold 3
MRI System
uMR 588

Print article

Channels

Ultrasound

view channel
Image: Structure of the proposed transparent ultrasound transducer and its optical transmittance (Photo courtesy of POSTECH)

Ultrasensitive Broadband Transparent Ultrasound Transducer Enhances Medical Diagnosis

The ultrasound-photoacoustic dual-modal imaging system combines molecular imaging contrast with ultrasound imaging. It can display molecular and structural details inside the body in real time without... Read more

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: PET/CT of a 60-year-old male patient with clinical suspicion of lung cancer (Photo courtesy of EJNMMI Physics)

Early 30-Minute Dynamic FDG-PET Acquisition Could Halve Lung Scan Times

F-18 FDG-PET scans are a way to look inside the body using a special dye, and these scans can be either static or dynamic. Static scans happen 60 minutes after the dye is administered into the body, showing... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more

Industry News

view channel
Image: The acquisition will expand IBA’s medical imaging quality assurance offering (Photo courtesy of Radcal)

IBA Acquires Radcal to Expand Medical Imaging Quality Assurance Offering

Ion Beam Applications S.A. (IBA, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium), the global leader in particle accelerator technology and a world-leading provider of dosimetry and quality assurance (QA) solutions, has entered... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.