Role of CT scan in assessment of bronchiectasis

ABSTRACT

In recent years, CT which is clearly safer and easier to perform and causes no patient discomfort, has been used to establish the presence and extent of bronchiectasis. The aim of this work is to evaluate the role of CT scan in the diagnosis of bronchiectasis; 40 patients with a suspected clinical diagnosis of bronchiectasis were analyzed. The type, site and lobar distribution of bronchiectasis were scored. Although the pathologic types of bronchiectasis have a characteristic feature on CT, differentiation between the various forms is much less important than simple identification of the disease process itself. Spiral CT is a reliable method in assessment of bronchiectasis in patients enable to hold their breath but high resolution CT is a method of choice due to its greater sensitivity