Journal of thoracic imaging
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Pulmonary hypertension (PHTN) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), but a routine noninvasive test for evaluating PHTN is lacking. We aimed to determine whether there is a correlation between computed tomography (CT) signs for PHTN and lung disease severity in CF. ⋯ There was no correlation between parenchymal lung disease severity assessed by the modified Brody score and CT signs of PHTN in CF patients.
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Low-dose computed tomography screening in older patients with a heavy-smoking history can be viewed as an opportunity to screen for smoking-related illnesses and not just for lung cancer. Within the National Lung Screening Trial, 24.1% of all deaths were attributed to lung cancer, but there were significant competing causes of mortality in this patient population. Cardiovascular illness caused 24.8% of deaths. ⋯ Low-dose computed tomography of the thorax may provide information about these diseases, which could be used to guide therapeutic intervention and, hopefully, alter the courses of these diseases. Information about coronary artery calcification, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and potential extrapulmonary malignancy should be provided in the report of the screening examination. This must be balanced against the risk of the burden of false-positive findings and the costs, both psychological and financial, associated with additional investigative evaluations.