Correlation between chest computed tomography findings and pulmonary function test results in the post-recovery phase of COVID-19

ABSTRACT Objective The radiological and functional lung sequelae in COVID-19 survivors remain unclear. We compared the chest computed tomography findings of COVID-19 patients with normal and abnormal pulmonary function test results in the post-recovery phase. Methods The data of consecutive patients who underwent pulmonary function tests and chest computed tomography within 14 days after recovery from COVID-19 at two medical centers between May and October 2020 were collected retrospectively. Two thoracic radiologists who were blinded to the clinical information and pulmonary function test results classified the patients according to the computed tomography features, evidence of fibrotic-like changes, and semi-quantitative quantification of the extent of pulmonary abnormalities. The clinical characteristics and computed tomography findings of patients with normal pulmonary function test results were compared with those of patients with abnormal results. Results A total of 101 COVID-19 survivors, comprising 48 ambulatory and 53 hospitalized patients, were included at a median of 95 days from initial symptom onset. Computed tomography revealed fibrotic-like changes in 10.9% of patients. A reduction in the diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide was the most common lung function abnormality (19.8%). Abnormal diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide was associated with the presence and extension of lung opacities on chest computed tomography scans and fibrotic pulmonary abnormalities. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of reduced diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide for detecting fibrotic-like pulmonary changes on chest computed tomography scans were 72.7%, 87.8%, and 86.1%, respectively. Conclusion Our study suggests that the presence of an abnormal diffusion capacity of carbon monoxide in the post-recovery phase of COVID-19 is associated with a greater risk of long-term parenchymal lung disease, as evidenced by the presence of fibrotic-like changes on chest computed tomography scans, such as traction bronchiectasis and architectural distortion.

Trasplante pulmonar en pacientes con fibrosis pulmonar: experiencia del Instituto Nacional del Tórax / Lung transplantation in pulmonary fibrosis: an experience from National Institute of Thorax, Chile

Resumen La fibrosis pulmonar es una enfermedad progresiva y de mal pronóstico por lo que el trasplante pulmonar sigue siendo una opción para pacientes bien seleccionados. Objetivo: Evaluar resultados y sobrevida de pacientes con fibrosis pulmonar trasplantados a 8 años de inicio del programa de trasplante. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo de trasplantados de pulmón por fibrosis pulmonar desde agosto de 2010 a julio de 2018. Resultados: De un total de 76 trasplantes, un 68,4% han sido en pacientes con fibrosis pulmonar. La principal indicación fue fibrosis pulmonar idiopática (75%). El puntaje de priorización pulmonar (LAS) promedio fue de 53 y un 32% cumplía con criterios de urgencia. La edad promedio fue 55 años, y se usó técnica unipulmonar en un 98%. La principal complicación quirúrgica fue la estenosis bronquial (7,6%). De las complicaciones médicas precoces destacaron 26 episodios infecciosos y 6 rechazos celulares agudos. La principal complicación tardía fue la disfunción crónica de injerto. Los resultados funcionales promedio pre trasplante, a 1 y 3 años fueron: CVF de 49%, 71% y 70% del valor teórico. Un 40% ha fallecido en el período de seguimiento. La principal causa de mortalidad el primer año post trasplante fueron las infecciones. La sobrevida a 1, 3 y 5 años fue de 86,2%, 65,2% y 59,8% respectivamente. Conclusiones: En trasplante monopulmonar es una opción de tratamiento en estos pacientes, con una sobrevida de 59% a 5 años. Un tercio se trasplanta con criterios de urgencia, siendo las infecciones la principal complicación precoz y la disfunción crónica de injerto la complicación tardía más frecuente.

Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive disease with a bad prognosis. This situation makes rise lung transplant as a therapeutic option among carefully selected patients. Objective: Evaluate the results and survival rates of patients with pulmonary fibrosis that were transplanted through an 8 years period of follow-up, from the beginning of our transplant program. Methods: Descriptive study of the transplanted patients diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis from august 2010 to july 2018. Results: Out of 76 transplants, 68.4% were due to pulmonary fibrosis, among these, the main diagnosis was idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (75%). The average lung allocation score (LAS) was 53 and 32% of them had urgency criteria. Patients ' age averaged 55 years-old and 98% of them underwent a single lung transplant. Early medical complications were seen in 26 patients with infectious episodes and 6 with acute rejection. The main late complication was chronic allograft dysfunction. The main surgical complication was bronchial stenosis (7.6%). In comparison to its base line reference values FVC means pre transplant and 1 and 3 years post-transplant were 49%, 70% and 71% respectively. A 40% of patients died during follow up period. Infections were the main cause of mortality during the first year. Survival rates at 1st 3rd and 5th year were 86,2%; 65.2% and 59.8% respectively. Conclusions: Single lung transplant is a therapeutic option for patients with interstitial lung disease with a 59% survival rate in 5 years, 1/3 fulfilled urgency criteria at the transplant time. The infections were the main early complication and chronic graft dysfunction was the main late complication.

Análise de custo-efetividade de pirfenidona em comparação a nintedanibe no tratamento de fibrose pulmonar idiopática na perspectiva do sistema suplementar de saúde brasileiro / Cost-effectiveness analysis of pirfenidone versus nintedanib on the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in the perspective of the Brazilian private healthcare system

Objetivo: O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o custo-efetividade de pirfenidona em comparação ao nintedanibe no tratamento de pacientes com fibrose pulmonar idiopática (FPI) na perspectiva do sistema suplementar de saúde. Métodos: O modelo foi realizado considerando um horizonte de tempo lifetime. O principal desfecho da análise foram os anos de vida ganhos. Os custos de aquisição de medicamentos foram obtidos por meio das listas oficiais de preço, considerando o ICMS 18%. Os demais custos relacionados ao manejo da doença, transplante de pulmão e custo de final de vida foram calculados por um microcusteio baseado em opinião de especialistas e listas de preços de procedimentos. Os dados de eficácia foram extraídos dos estudos CAPACITY 1, 2 e ASCEND, e extrapolados por meio de uma distribuição paramétrica Weibull. Os dados referentes ao nintedanibe foram extrapolados por uma comparação indireta. Resultados: Os custos totais de pirfenidona e de nintedanibe foram R$ 319.689 e R$ 522.887, respectivamente. Os anos de vida salvos resultantes foram 6,536 para pirfenidona e 5,726 para nintedanibe, resultando em um valor incremental de 0,810. Conclusão: Dessa maneira, a partir dos valores incrementais de custos e efetividade, a pirfenidona demonstrou ser uma opção terapêutica dominante quando comparada ao nintedanibe.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of pirfenidone in comparison to nintedanib in the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) under the Brazilian private healthcare system perspective. Methods: The model was performed considering a lifetime time horizon. The main outcome was life years (LY) gained. The drug acquisition costs were obtained from official price lists, considering taxes of 18%. The other related costs (disease management, lung transplantation and end-of-life costs) were calculated by a micro-costing based on specialists' opinion and procedures price lists, costs are presented in 2017 (R$). The efficacy data was extracted from CAPACITY 1, 2 and ASCEND studies, and extrapolated by the parametric distribution Weibull. The data related to nintedanib was extrapolated by an indirect comparison. Results: The total costs of pirfenidone and nintedanibe were R$ 319,689 and R$ 522,887, respectively. The LY results were 6.536 for pirfenidone and 5.726 for nintedanib, resulting in an incremental value of 0.810. Conclusion: Therefore, pirfenidone demonstrated to be a dominant therapeutic option when compared to nintedanib, based on incremental values of cost and effectiveness.

Sistema de Apoyo para la Cuantificación Semiautomática de Fibrosis Pulmonar en Imágenes de TAC / Support System for Semiautomatic Quantification of Pulmonary Fibrosis in CT Images

Resumen: En este trabajo se presenta un método para calcular los niveles de fibrosis pulmonar en imágenes de tomografía axial computarizada. Se utilizó un algoritmo de segmentación semiautomática basado en el método de Chan-Vese. El método mostró similitudes de forma cualitativa en la región de la fibrosis con respecto al experto clínico. Sin embargo es necesario validar los resultados con una base de datos mayor. El método propuesto aproxima un porcentaje de fibrosis de forma fácil para apoyar su implementación en la práctica clínica minimizando la subjetividad del experto médico y generando una estimación cuantitativa de la región de fibrosis.

Abstract: A method to estimate the pulmonary fibrosis in computed tomography (CT) imaging is presented. A semi-automatic segmentation algorithm based on the Chan-Vese method was used. The proposed method shows a similar fibrosis región with respect to clinical expert. However, the results need to be validated in a bigger data base. The proposed method approximates a fibrosis percentage that allows to achieve this procedure easily in order to support its implementation in the clinical practice minimizing the clinical expert subjectivity and generating a quantitative estimation of fibrosis region.

Caracterización de pacientes con compromiso pulmonar intersticial asociado a esclerosis sistémica atendidos en el Hospital Militar Central desde enero de 1998 a mayo de 2008 / No presenta

La esclerosis sistémica es una enfermedad clínicamente heterogénea, caracterizada por sobreproducción y depósito de tejido colágeno en piel, órganos internos y pared de vasos sanguíneos. El pronóstico depende en gran parte del compromiso de órganos internos, particularmente el pulmón, siendo éste el segundo órgano más afectado, sólo superado por el esófago. Las dos principales presentaciones clínicas de compromiso pulmonar son la enfermedad pulmonar intersticial y la hipertensión arterial pulmonar, siendo la principal causa de mortalidad en estos pacientes. El objetivo del presente estudio consiste en describir las características clínicas, epidemiológicas, de función pulmonar e imagenológicas del compromiso pulmonar intersticial en pacientes con esclerosis sistémica. Materiales y métodos: revisión de historias clínicas de 112 pacientes con esclerosis sistémica atendidos en el Hospital Militar Central entre enero de 1998 y mayo de 2008. Signos clínicos de compromiso pulmonar, test de función pulmonar, TACAR y BAL fueron utilizados para detectar enfermedad pulmonar intersticial. Resultados: 41 pacientes con esclerosis sistémica presentaron enfermedad pulmonar intersticial por hallazgos tomográficos y por disminución en la capacidad de difusión de monóxido de carbono. El promedio de edad fue de 46 años al inicio de los síntomas de ES. La relación mujer: hombre fue de 9:1. El compromiso pulmonar intersticial fue más frecuente en pacientes con esclerosis sistémica difusa (70%). El síntoma más común fue la disnea (80%). Los ANAS estuvieron presentes en el 100% de los pacientes. La presencia de anti-SLC-70 se asoció con mayor severidad y mayor probabilidad de daño pulmonar. A diferencia de la difusión de monóxido de carbono la espirometría fue normal en un gran porcentaje, teniendo poca utilidad en el diagnóstico inicial. Conclusión: el compromiso pulmonar intersticial asociado a la esclerosis sistémica no es infrecuente en nuestra población, especialmente en pacientes con esclerosis sistémica difusa, sexo femenino y positividad para anti-SCL-70. El diagnóstico temprano de alveolitis es fundamental para prevenir el deterioro en la función pulmonar y reducir la morbimortalidad asociada al compromiso pulmonar. Las herramientas diagnósticas utilizadas para detectar enfermedad pulmonar intersticial son la DLCO, TACAR y BAL. La DLCO es el parámetro de función pulmonar que mejor refleja la presencia de alveolitis. La positividad para el anticuerpo anti-SLC-70 podría estar asociada a mayor severidad y mayor probabilidad de daño pulmonar. La radiografía de tórax tiene menor utilidad que el TACAR en la evaluación de la presencia y extensión de compromiso pulmonar intersticial en ES. Además del TACAR, el BAL con recuento celular diferencial debe ser realizado para diagnosticar alveolitis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a clinically heterogeneous, systemic disorder which affects the connective tissue of skin, internal organs and the walls of blood vessels. Prognosis of SSc largely depends on involvement of internal organs, particulary the lungs. The frecuency of lung involvement in SSc ranks second to gastrointestinal manifestation. Two major clinical features of lung involvement are interstitial lung disease (ILD) and pulmonary arterial hipertension. Pulmonary complications are the most common causes of death in SSc. The aims of the study was to describe the clinical characteristics, epidemiological, of pulmonary function test and radiological signs of interstitial lung fibrosis in ours patients with SSc. Methods: we reviewed the records of 112 patients with SSc who were seen between 1998 to 2008 at the Hospital Militar Central, Bogota D.C. Clinical signs of pulmonary involvement, Lung Function Tets, High Resolution CT (HRCT) and Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) with differential cell counting were used to detect ILD. Results: 41 subjects had SSc asociate to interstitial lung disease as indicated by radiological signs of lung fibrosis by HRCT and decreased carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO). Women were affected nine times as often as men (9:1). The mean (SD) age of the 46 years (20-79 years). Interstitial lung fibrosis were noticed often in patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc (70%) but less frecuently in patients with limited cutaneous SSc (30%). The most common symptom was dyspnea (80%). Antinuclear antibodies were present in 100% of patients. Antitopoisomerasa I (Scl-70) were found in 57% of patients and in 95% of those with diffuse cutaneous SSc. Unlike the carbon monoxide diffusing, the spirometry was normal in a great percentage, having usefulness small in the early diagnosis. Conclusion: the interstitial lung disease in patients with SSc, is not infrequent in our population, with discharge prevalencia in patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc with Antitopoisomerase I and feminine sex (9:1) in productive ages of the life. Early diagnosis of alveolitis is essential to prevent the deterioration of pulmonary function, improving outcome in SSc patients. Diagnostic procedures used to detect ILD are DLCO, HRCT and BAL. DLCO is the lung function parameter that best reflects the alveolitis in SSc. Chest radiography is less informative than HRCT of the lungs in the evaluation of the presence and extent of ILD in SSc. Antitopoisomerasa I (Scl-70) are associated with interstitial pulmonary disease. In addition to HRCT, BAL with differential cell counting should be performed for diagnosing SSc alveolitis.