Demonstrability of endobronchial mucosa on the lesion of central bronchus by three dimensional CT

The purpose of this study was to asses the usefulness of three- dimensional CT (3D-CT) in the demonstrability of mucosal irregularity on the central airway diseases. In the experimental study, 3D-CT with 1mm thickness of the x-ray beam, 2mm/sec table feed time and 1mm reconstruction pitch can clearly demonstrate the simulated endobronchial protrusion. Clinically, 22 patients with hilar lung cancer were studied. In 18 cases (81.8%), the surface of mucosa in tumor were well correlated to fiberoptic bronchoscopical findings. In conclusion 3D-CT could not only detect the endobronchial lesion or stenosis but also demonstrate the mucosal abnormality. 3CD-CT can be helpful for predicting whether bronchoscopical biopsy is possible or not.