Functional respiratory imaging (FRI) could lead to clinically relevant insights into the cystic fibrosis (CF) respiratory system.
Air trapping and pulmonary blood distribution were found to be clinically relevant functional respiratory imaging (FRI) parameters associated with spirometry and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), suggesting these FRI variables could offer value in the assessment of functional characteristics of the CF respiratory system, according to research findings published in BMC Pulmonary Medicine.
The FRI modality comprises a combination of high-resolution computed tomography (CT) images and computational fluid dynamics to gain objective and quantitative insights into lung structure and function.
While FRI has demonstrated value in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, few studies have been conducted to demonstrate its utility in the assessment of CF.
To close this research gap, a team of Belgian investigators conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 39 chest CTs from 24 patients with CF (mean age, 24±9 years). At the time of their first CT scan, patients had a mean percentage predicted of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (ppFEV1) of 71±25%.
