Relationships between emphysema and airways metrics at High-Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) and ventilatory response to exercise in mild to moderate COPD patients

摘要

Background and purpose: In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients, the opportunity to carry out a thoracic high-resolution CT (HRCT) scan and to perform an incremental cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) increases the possibility to identify the different clinical features of disease. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationships between HRCT metrics (on emphysema by low attenuation areas-LAA% and airways by wall area-WA%) and CPET variables related to the dynamic response to exercise in terms of elastic balance (Delta rest-to-peak IC/TLC) and ventilation capacity for carbon dioxide output (V-E/V-CO2 slope and V-E/V-CO2 intercept).