Photon-counting computed tomography in the assessment of rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease: an initial experience
Nikolett Marton, János Gyebnár, Kinga Fritsch, Judit Majnik, György Nagy, Judit Simon, Veronika Müller, Ádám Domonkos Tárnoki, Dávid László Tárnoki, Pál Maurovich‐Horvat
Abstract
PURPOSE: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) accounts for a significant proportion of mortality and morbidity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of this cross-sectional study is to evaluate the performance of novel photon-counting detector computed tomography (PCD-CT) in the detection of pulmonary parenchymal involvement. METHODS: Sixty-one patients with RA without a previous definitive diagnosis of ILD underwent high-resolution (HR) (0.4 mm slice thickness) and ultra-high-resolution (UHR) (0.2 mm slice thickness) PCDCT examination. The extent of interstitial abnormalities [ground-glass opacity (GGO), reticulation, bronchiectasis, and honeycombing] were scored in each lobe using a Likert-type scale. Total ILD scores were calculated as the sum of scores from all lobes. RESULTS: < 0.001]. CONCLUSION: UHR PCD-CT provides more detailed information on ILD in patients with RA than low-dose HR PCDCT. HR PCD-CT image acquisition with a low effective radiation dose may serve as a valuable, low-radiation screening tool in the selection of patients for further, higher-dose UHR PCD-CT screening.