Prevalence of Tracheal Collapse in an Emphysema Cohort as Measured With End-expiration CT

Rationale and Objectives To retrospectively investigate the prevalence of tracheal collapse in an emphysema cohort. The occurrence of a large degree of tracheal collapse may have important implications for the clinical management of respiratory symptoms and air trapping in patients with emphysema. Materials and Methods Paired full-inspiratory and end-expiratory thin-section volumetric computed tomographic scans were available for 1071 long-term smokers with clinically and physiologically confirmed emphysema. The percentage reduction in the cross-sectional tracheal luminal area from full-inspiration to end-expiration was automatically computed at 2.5-mm intervals along the centerline of the trachea using customized software. Results Maximal tracheal collapse did not follow a normal distribution in the emphysema cohort ( P P Conclusion This study offers insights into the prevalence of tracheal collapse in a cohort of patients with emphysema; future work is needed to determine the possible relationship between tracheal collapse and air trapping in subjects with emphysema.