An investigation into the prevalence of paratracheal air cysts revealed on multidetector computed tomography

Paratracheal air cysts (PTACs) are frequently and incidentally found on computed tomography (CT) examinations of the chest, neck, and spine. Aetiology, pathophysiology, clinical and radiological relevance, and accompanying airway and parenchymal pathologies of PTACs are not known. A limited number of studies have discussed the association between PTACs and radiological or clinical abnormalities. Goo et al. and Kim et al. reported a relationship between emphysema and PTACs. However, Cheng et al., Buterbaugh et al., and Bae et al. found no association between emphysema and PTACs. Most patients are asymptomatic. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of PTAC and the association between the PTACs and emphysema, bronchiectasis, pneumothorax, bullea, and sternotomies on multidetector CT (MDCT) examinations.