Correlation of Sterno-Aortic distance with FEV1/ FVC and FEV1 in patients with COPD

ABSTRACT

Background@#Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is defined by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease as " a disease state characterize by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible". Several qualitative and quantitative CT parameters have been studied in diagnosing patients with COPD. The clinical application of CT scan in quantitative assessment of the morphologic features of airways in patients with COPD has been subjects of numerous investigations. However, studies on sterno-aortic distance as a parameter in assessing morphologic feature of COPD in CT scan has been rare. Hence, this study aims to find a correlation of sterno-aortic distance with pulmonary function test in patients with COPD. @*Methods@#Eighty-one patients diagnosed with COPD who underwent chest CT scan and PFT within the period of one year were included. Sterno-aortic distance were measured and correlated with PFT results and severity of COPD. @*Results@#Most patients enrolled were males with average age of 64 ‡ 11years old. Most of these patients are categorized as mild COPD with 38 % and severe COPD with 38% of the total population. Patients classified as moderate COPD comprise 24 % of the total population. There is significant weak inverse correlation between sterno-aortic distance and PFT results, FEV1 (r = -0.419, p < 0.001) and FEV1/FVC(r = -0.322, p value of 0.003). There is a significant correlation derived between stern aortic distance and severity of COPD (ho = 0.88, p-value of <0.001). @*Conclusions@#Sterno-aortic distance is a valuable parameter in patients with COPD as well as its severity.