Adult bronchopulmonary dysplasia: computed tomography pulmonary findings

Introduction: This study aimed to describe the structural pulmonary sequelae of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in adulthood.

Subjects and methods: Fifty-one adult survivors (36 females and 15 males; median age 20 years) of BPD underwent high-resolution inspiratory and expiratory computed tomography of the chest. The scans were evaluated independently by two thoracic radiologists blinded to the patient's clinical details using a standardised scoring system.

Results: Abnormal findings were seen in 50 (98%), the most common of which were subpleural triangular opacities (94%), linear opacities (90%), air trapping (65%) and emphysema (47%). The kappa values were derived by simplifying the score for each finding as present or absent. The kappa values for these findings were 0.65, 0.20, 0.58 and 0.54, respectively.

Conclusions: Common findings were triangular, linear opacities and gas trapping. Emphysema diagnosis was more prevalent than previous studies, which may have been enhanced by improved technical factors.