[Correlation of tomographic findings with pulmonary function parameters in nonsmoking patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis].

OBJECTIVE: To correlate tomographic findings with pulmonary function parameters in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out, in which 30 nonsmoking patients with IPF were evaluated. Using a semiquantitative scoring system, the following high-resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) findings were quantified: total interstitial disease (TID), reticular abnormality/honeycombing, and ground-glass opacity (GGO). The functional variables were measured by spirometry, forced oscillation technique (FOT), helium dilution method, as well as the single-breath method of measuring diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO).

RESULTS: Of the 30 patients studied, 18 were female, and 12 were male, with a mean age of 70.9 years. We found that TID and reticular abnormality and honeycombing correlated significantly (negative correlations) with the measurements of forced vital capacity (FVC), total lung capacity (TLC), DLCO, and dynamic respiratory compliance were found, as well as that GGO correlated significantly (and positively) with residual volume/TLC. The ratio of forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75% of FVC to FVC (FEF(25-75%)/FVC) correlated positively with TID, reticular abnormality/honeycombing, and GGO.

CONCLUSION: In IPF patients, the measurements of volume, diffusion, and dynamic compliance are the physiological variables which best reflect the extent of the interstitial disease on HRCT scans.