CT virtual bronchoscopy for detecting Wegener granulomatosis.
نویسنده
چکیده
Summers and colleagues (January 2002)1 showed a beneficial method for detecting central airways involvement in patients with Wegener granulomatosis (WG). Indeed, CT virtual bronchoscopy (VB) has an advantage in visualizing stenosis of the airways over either CT scanning alone or bronchoscopy alone. The investigators applied the method to 11 patients with WG, however, they did not describe any detailed patient characteristics, including inflammatory activity, serologic values, the presence or absence of other affected organs, and previous or current treatment of these patients, except for disease duration. In addition, Summers and colleagues did not provide the outcomes for these patients who were enrolled in the study. WG is a systemic disease of unknown origin that is characterized histologically by the presence of necrotizing granulomatous inflammation and vasculitis involving small arteries, veins, and capillaries. It most commonly affects the upper and lower respiratory tracts, and the kidneys. Because a delayed confirmation of the diagnosis and initiation of the treatment may result in the patient requiring tracheotomy or hemodialysis, we rheumatologists must attempt to understand the disease activity by radiologic examination, urinalysis, and the titer of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies as soon as possible. Recurrence is also quite common among patients with WG.2 A high rate of recurrence often compels us to continue administering immunosuppressive agents. However, the prolonged use of these agents may cause patients to experience irritable side effects.3 Further studies are needed to demonstrate the contribution of VB to the improvement in the outcomes of WG patients or the prevention of disease recurrence, which are the most pivotal factors for patients with WG, before VB can be recognized as an efficient examining tool.
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عنوان ژورنال:
- Chest
دوره 122 4 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2002