Nagaki M, Shimura S, Tanno Y, Ishibashi T, Sasaki H, Takishima T
First Department of Internal Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Chest. 1992 Nov;102(5):1464-9. doi: 10.1378/chest.102.5.1464.
To understand the role of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in the development of bronchiectasis, we investigated by CT the presence of bronchiectasis in two groups of chronic bronchitis patients and in a control group. There were no differences in clinical or laboratory findings between groups A and B. Three observers without any knowledge of these patients reported bronchiectasis on a scale of 0 to 3 and bronchial wall thickness on a scale of 0 to 3 in each lobe of both lungs. Bronchiectasis and wall thickness scores in group A (chronic bronchitis with P aeruginosa infection) were significantly higher than bronchiectasis scores and wall thickness in group B (chronic bronchitis without P aeruginosa infection). Both scores in group B were higher than those in group C (control group). These findings support the idea that chronic P aeruginosa infection plays a role in the development of bronchiectasis.
