Keywords:
Thorax, Respiratory system, Cardiovascular system, CT-High Resolution, CT, Conventional radiography, Decision analysis, Diagnostic procedure, Experimental investigations, Pathology, Epidemiology, Inflammation
Authors:
G. Distefano1, M. Palermo2, F. Libra1, F. Tiralongo1, S. E. Torrisi1, A. Vancheri1, G. Sambataro1, A. Basile1, C. Vancheri1, S. Palmucci1; 1Catania/IT, 2Catania /IT
DOI:
10.26044/esti2019/P-0051
Methods & Materials
From the electronic database of a regional Centre for interstitial and rare lung disease,
we selected patients with a diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis.
Our analysis included patients with clinical diagnosis confirmed by bronchoalveolar lavage and/or biopsy,
according to the ATS/ERS/WASOG criteria [2],
during the period 2013-2018.
Their HRCT examinations were retrospectively reviewed by two radiologists with proven experience in pulmonary diseases: typical (perilymphatic and peribroncovascular distribution,
mediastinal enlarged nodes,
etc.) and atypical (consolidations,
ground-glass opacities,
atypical nodules and masses,
airway involvement,
atypical lymphadenopathy) appearances were registered,
following the Table A (Figure 1) criteria we adopted.
The exams were made with "Optima CT660 SE" volumetric CT scanner,
manufactured by General Electric [GE Healthcare,
Milwaukee,
WI,
USA],
using a caudo-cranial monophasic scan in inspiratory apnea,
according the following technical parameters: thin-section CT images ranged between 0.625-1.5 mm; sharp kernel imaging reconstruction,
contiguous or overlap images; no contrast media administration.
Data were collected on Microsoft Excel database (Microsoft Corporate,
Redmond,
WA,
USA) and analyzed by IBM SPSS [IBM Corporation,
Armonk,
NY,
USA].
Continuous variables were presented as means (standard deviations),
and categorical variables were presented as percentages.