Prediction of postoperative pulmonary function: preliminary comparison of single-breath dual-energy xenon CT with...

To assess the use of xenon ventilation maps (Xe-images) for predicting postoperative pulmonary function.

After study approval by the institutional review board, written informed consent was obtained from 30 patients with lung tumors who underwent pre- and postoperative spirometry, pulmonary perfusion SPECT and dual-energy CT (80 kV and 140 kV/Sn) after single-breath inspiration of 35 % xenon. Xe-images were calculated by three-material decomposition. Sum of pixel values of the part to be resected (A) and of the whole lung (B) on Xe-images or lung perfusion SPECT, and volumes or the number of segments of the part to be resected (A) and of the whole lung (B) on Xe-images were enumerated, respectively. We multiplied (1 - A/B) by each preoperative value from spirometry for prediction. Predictions by each of the four methods were compared with postoperative values.

Predicted values for vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) by the four methods regressed significantly with measured values (R (2) = 0.56-0.77, p < 0.001 for all).

Analysis of Xe-images can predict postoperative VC, FVC and FEV1 with accuracy comparable to that of CT volumetry.