Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: physiologic tests, quantitative CT indexes, and CT visual scores as predictors of mortality.

PURPOSE: To retrospectively evaluate quantitative computed tomographic (CT) indexes, pulmonary function test results, and visual CT scoring as predictors of mortality and to describe serial changes in quantitative CT indexes over 12 months in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained at all participating institutions. One hundred sixty-seven patients (110 men, 57 women; mean age, 63 years +/- 9 [standard deviation]) with IPF were enrolled in a clinical trial. Patients underwent thin-section CT in the supine position at full inspiration at enrollment (baseline) and at 12-month follow-up. After segmentation of the lungs, mean lung attenuation (MLA), skewness, and kurtosis were measured. Extent of ground glass opacity and lung fibrosis were assessed visually. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and total lung capacity (TLC) were measured. Median duration of follow-up for mortality was 1.5 years. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were used to determine the predictive value of baseline variables for survival. RESULTS: At univariate analysis, baseline variables predictive of death included TLC, fibrosis, skewness, and kurtosis. At multivariate analysis, FVC (P = .006) and fibrosis (P = .002) were predictors of short-term mortality. In 95 patients who had both baseline and follow-up CT scans, fibrosis (P = .030), MLA (P = .003), skewness (P < .001), and kurtosis (P < .001) all showed change indicating disease progression. CONCLUSION: Visually determined disease extent on CT images is a strong independent predictor of mortality in IPF. Serial evaluation of quantitative CT measures can show disease progression in these patients.

Quantitative CT indexes in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: relationship with physiologic impairment.

PURPOSE: To determine whether measurements of skewness, kurtosis, and mean lung attenuation on thin-section computed tomographic (CT) histograms in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) correlate with pulmonary physiologic abnormality in a nonspirometrically controlled multicenter study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors analyzed baseline digital thin-section CT data from 144 patients with IPF who enrolled in a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical effectiveness trial of interferon beta 1a in the treatment of IPF. All patients underwent thin-section CT in the supine position at full inspiration. The lungs were isolated by using a semiautomated thresholding technique, with an upper threshold of -200 HU. An attenuation correction algorithm was used. Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) included forced vital capacity, total lung capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 second, and diffusing lung capacity. Univariate and multiple correlation and regression statistical analyses were used to determine relationships between histogram features and results of PFTs. RESULTS: Moderate correlations existed between histogram features and PFT results. Kurtosis showed the greatest degree of correlation with physiologic abnormality (r = 0.53, P <.01). Strength of correlation increased with exclusion of suboptimal scans but did not change significantly after application of an attenuation correction algorithm. Attenuations for lungs, gas, and soft tissue varied considerably between scanner manufacturers. Kurtosis alone provided predictions of pulmonary function that were virtually as good as those from all histogram features combined. CONCLUSION: Thin-section CT histograms of the lungs were found to correlate with results of PFTs in patients with IPF, which supports the claim that histogram features can be used as valid indexes of IPF in a multiinstitutional nonspirometrically controlled study.