Special computer-aided computed tomography (CT) volume measurement and comparison method for pulmonary tuberculosis (TB)

The computed tomography (CT) manifestations in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients are complex and could not be quantitatively evaluated. We aimed to establish a new method to objectively measure the lung injury level in PTB by thoracic CT and make quantitative comparisons. In the retrospective study, a total of 360 adults were selected and divided into four groups according to their CT manifestations and medical history: Normal group, PTB group, PTB with diabetes mellitus (DM) group and Death caused by PTB group. Five additional patients who had continuous CT scans were chosen for preliminary longitudinal analysis. We established a new computer-aided CT volume measurement and comparison method for PTB patients (CACTV-PTB) which measured lung volume (LV) and thoracic volume (TV). RLT was calculated as the ratio of LV to TV and comparisons were performed among different groups. Standardized RLT (SRLT) was used in the longitudinal analysis among different patients. In the Normal group, LV and TV were positively correlated in linear regression (Ŷ=-0.5+0.46X, R2=0.796, P<0.01). RLT values were significantly different among four groups (Normal: 0.40±0.05, PTB: 0.37±0.08, PTB+DM: 0.34±0.06, Death: 0.23±0.04). The curves of SRLT value from different patients shared a same start point and could be compared directly. Utilizing the novel objective method CACTV-PTB makes it possible to compare the severity and dynamic change among different PTB patients. Our early experience also suggested that the lung injury is severer in the PTB+DM group than in the PTB group.