Utility of the inspiratory phase in high-resolution computed tomography evaluations of pediatric patients with bronchiolitis obliterans after allogeneic bone marrow transplant: reducing patient radiation exposure

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the utility of the inspiratory phase in high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the chest for the diagnosis of post-bone marrow transplantation bronchiolitis obliterans. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study. We selected patients of either gender who underwent bone marrow transplantation and chest HRCT between March 1, 2002 and December 12, 2014. Ages ranged from 3 months to 20.7 years. We included all examinations in which the HRCT was performed appropriately. The examinations were read by two radiologists, one with extensive experience in pediatric radiology and another in the third year of residency, who determined the presence or absence of the following imaging features: air trapping, bronchiectasis, alveolar opacities, nodules, and atelectasis. RESULTS A total of 222 examinations were evaluated (mean, 5.4 ± 4.5 examinations per patient). The expiratory phase findings were comparable to those obtained in the inspiratory phase, except in one patient, in whom a small uncharacteristic nodule was identified only in the inspiratory phase. Air trapping was identified in a larger number of scans in the expiratory phase than in the inspiratory phase, as was atelectasis, although the difference was statistically significant only for air trapping. CONCLUSION In children being evaluated for post-bone marrow transplantation bronchiolitis obliterans, the inspiratory phase can be excluded from the chest HRCT protocol, thus reducing by half the radiation exposure in this population.