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Early pulmonary involvement in ankylosing spondylitis: assessment with thin-section CT
K Turetschek1, W Ebner, D Fleischmann
1Department of Radiology, University of Vienna, Austria. Karl.Turetschek@univie.ac.at
Clinical Radiology
|August 31, 2000
Summary
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients with normal chest X-rays often show early lung lesions on thin-section CT scans. These subtle CT findings, however, have limited impact on diagnosis and do not correlate with clinical data.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Rheumatology
- Radiology
Background:
- Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease primarily affecting the spine.
- Pulmonary complications can occur in AS, but early detection in patients with normal chest X-rays is challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and patterns of early pulmonary lesions in AS patients using thin-section CT.
- To correlate CT findings with pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and clinical data.
Main Methods:
- Thin-section CT, PFTs, and clinical examinations were performed on 21 AS patients without a history of smoking and normal chest radiography.
- Patients with unrelated findings on plain films were excluded.
Main Results:
- 71% of AS patients (15/21) exhibited abnormalities on thin-section CT.
- Common findings included interlobular septal thickening (33%), bronchial wall thickening (29%), and pleural thickening (29%).
- Mild restrictive lung function impairment was observed in both patients with and without CT abnormalities.
Conclusions:
- Thin-section CT frequently detects subtle pulmonary abnormalities in AS patients with normal chest X-rays.
- The extent of these CT findings does not correlate with functional or clinical data, limiting their routine diagnostic utility in AS.