Romatoid Artritte Akciğer Değişikliklerinin Yüksek Rezolüsyonlu Bilgisayarlı Tomografi ile Değerlendirilmesi
2 Ankara Gazi Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı, Ankara, Türkiye
3 Gazi Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı, Ankara, Türkiye
4 Gazi Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Göğüs Hastalıkları Anabilim Dalı, Ankara
5 Gazi Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Radyoloji Anabilim Dalı, Ankara
The aim of this study was to evaluate lung changes in patients with rheu- matoid arthritis (RA) using high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and to compare the HRCT findings with clinical and laboratory findings of the patients. Fifty-five patients (48 female, 7 male) fulfilling the revised criteria for RA of the ARA were reviewed. Patients’ demographic, clinical and laboratory findings were defined and HRCT of the thorax was performed for all patients. The mean age of patients was 55.3 ± 13.2 years and the mean dura-tion of the disease was 12.4 ± 9.9 years. Eighteen patients (32.7%) were current smokers. HRCT examination of 41 patients (74.5%) demonstrated pathological findings. Fibrotic changes (n: 24, 58.5%), parenchymal nodules (n: 15, 36.6%) and emphysema (n: 13, 31.7%) were the most frequent pathological findings detected in HRCT. No statistical significance was detected in terms of demographic, clinical and serological features between the groups that had normal and abnormal HRCT findings except the mean age of patients that was higher in the group with abnormal HRCT findings (p<0.01). In conclusion HRCT is a safe, sensitive and non-invasive diagnostic tool in the assessment of subclinical pulmonary abnormalities in patients with RA but it should be considered that pulmonary HRCT findings observed in RA patients may also be caused by factors other than RA
Keywords : Rheumatoid arthritis, high resolution computed tomography, pulmonary involvement