Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 9, 2026

Bronchial Thermoplasty: A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Severe Asthma
Published on: November 4, 2010
Thin-section CT evidence of bronchial thickening in children with stable asthma: bronchoconstriction or airway
L Ketai1, C Coutsias, S Williamson
1Department of Radiology, University of New Mexico Health Science Center, Albuquerque 87131, USA.
Rationale And Objectives:
The authors performed this study to determine if bronchial wall thickening is present in children with moderate to severe asthma during periods free from clinical bronchoconstriction.
Materials And Methods:
The authors obtained low (radiation) dose thin-section computed tomographic (CT) scans in each of 18 control subjects and 21 children with moderately severe but stable asthma. Spirometry was performed on all subjects at the time of CT scanning. Bronchial wall thickness and bronchial wall area were measured, and the percentage wall area (bronchial wall area divided by bronchial cross-sectional area) was calculated. The authors performed best-fit regression analysis of wall thickness and percentage wall area versus bronchial diameter and qualitative analysis of images for bronchial wall thickening.
Results:
In asthmatic patients, the mean percentage of the predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 second was 0.88 +/- 0.09. The best fit regression line that demonstrated the relationship between wall thickness and bronchial diameter for patients with asthma differed significantly from that for control subjects (P < .005). The regression line that demonstrated the relationship between the percentage wall area and bronchial diameter for patients with asthma differed from that of the control subjects when bronchial wall thickness measurements were used to calculate the percentage wall area (P < .05). Results of qualitative analysis also showed significantly more bronchial wall thickening in asthmatic patients than in control subjects (P < .001).
Conclusion:
Bronchial wall thickening detected at thin-section CT in children with moderately severe asthma cannot be attributed solely to bronchoconstriction and may represent airway inflammation or remodeling.
Related Concept Videos
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease III: Chronic Bronchitis Features
Asthma III: Clinical Manifestations
The Bronchial Tree
The trachea, commonly known as the windpipe, is a tube that connects the larynx (voice box) to the bronchi. At a point called the carina, it bifurcates into two primary bronchi. The right primary bronchus is wider, shorter, and more vertical than the left primary...
Asthma I: Introduction
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-II: Pathophysiology
Chronic Inflammation
Asthma-II: Pathophysiology and Classification
Additionally, environmental and genetic factors play crucial roles in determining an individual's susceptibility to asthma and the severity of their condition.
Critical processes in asthma pathophysiology include: