Pulmonary Department, General Clinic Euromedica, 54454 Thessaloniki, Greece.
3rd Surgery Department, AHEPA University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Medicina (Kaunas). 2023 Apr 18;59(4):787. doi: 10.3390/medicina59040787.
Interstitial lung diseases have always been an issue for pulmonary and rheumatology physicians. Computed tomography scans with a high-resolution protocol and bronchoalveolar lavage have been used along with biochemical blood tests to reach a diagnosis. We included 80 patients in total. First, all patients had their diagnosis with computed tomography of the thorax, serological/ immunological blood tests and bronchoalveolar lavage. However; after 3 months, all were divided into 2 groups: those who had bronchoalveolar lavage again and those who had cryobiopsy instead of bronchoalveolar lavage (40/40). Positron emission-computed tomography was also performed upon the first and second diagnosis. The patients' follow-up was 4 years from diagnosis. Patients suffered most from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (56, 70%), while lung cancer was rarely encountered in the sample (7, 9.75%). Age distribution ranged between 53 and 68 years with a mean value of 60 years. The computed tomography findings revealed 25 patients with typical diagnosis (35.2%), 17 with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis (23.9%) and 11 with probable diagnosis (11%). The cryobiopsy technique led to a new diagnosis in 28 patients (35% of the total sample). Patients who had a new diagnosis with cryobiopsy had a mean survival time of 710 days (<1460). Positron emission-computed tomography SUV uptake was positively associated with the cryobiopsy technique/new disease diagnosis and improved all respiratory functions. Discussion: Positron emission-computed tomography is a tool that can be used along with respiratory functions for disease evaluation. Cryobiopsy is a safe tool for patients with interstitial lung disease and can assist in the diagnosis of interstitial lung diseases. The survival of patients was increased in the cryobiopsy group versus only bronchoalveolar lavage for disease diagnosis.
间质性肺疾病一直是肺病和风湿病医生关注的问题。高分辨率协议的计算机断层扫描 (CT) 扫描以及支气管肺泡灌洗 (BAL) 与生化血液检查一起用于诊断。我们总共纳入了 80 名患者。首先，所有患者均接受了胸部 CT 检查、血清学/免疫学血液检查和支气管肺泡灌洗检查。然而，3 个月后，所有患者被分为两组：一组再次接受支气管肺泡灌洗，另一组接受冷冻活检而不是支气管肺泡灌洗（40/40）。在第一次和第二次诊断时还进行了正电子发射计算机断层扫描 (PET-CT)。患者的随访时间从诊断开始为 4 年。患者最常患有慢性阻塞性肺疾病（56 例，70%），而肺癌在样本中很少见（7 例，9.75%）。年龄分布在 53 至 68 岁之间，平均值为 60 岁。CT 结果显示 25 例患者有典型诊断（35.2%），17 例有间质性肺纤维化（23.9%），11 例有疑似诊断（11%）。冷冻活检技术导致 28 例患者（总样本的 35%）新诊断。进行冷冻活检新诊断的患者平均生存时间为 710 天（<1460）。正电子发射计算机断层扫描的 SUV 摄取与冷冻活检技术/新疾病诊断呈正相关，改善了所有呼吸功能。讨论：正电子发射计算机断层扫描是一种可与呼吸功能一起用于疾病评估的工具。冷冻活检是一种用于间质性肺疾病患者的安全工具，可协助间质性肺疾病的诊断。与仅进行支气管肺泡灌洗用于疾病诊断相比，冷冻活检组患者的生存率提高了。
