Published: 1 December 2009

Authors: Gupta, S., Siddiqui, S., Haldar, P., Vimal Raj, J., Entwisle, J., Wardlaw, A., et al.

Read online: Qualitative Analysis of High-Resolution CT Scans in Severe Asthma

    High-resolution CT (HRCT) scanning is part of the management of severe asthma, but its application varies between centers. We sought to describe the HRCT scan abnormalities of a large severe asthma cohort and to determine the utility of clinical features to direct the use of HRCT scanning in this group of patients.

    Subjects attending our Difficult Asthma Clinic (DAC) between February 2000 and November 2006 (n = 463) were extensively re-characterized and 185 underwent HRCT scan. The HRCT scans were analyzed qualitatively and the interobserver variability was assessed. Using logistic regression we defined clinical parameters that were associated with bronchiectasis (BE) and bronchial wall thickening (BWT) alone or in combination.