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The following is a summary of “Association of Ground-Glass Opacities with Systemic Inflammation and Progression of Emphysema,” published in the December 2024 issue of Pulmonology by Fortis et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the association between Ground-glass opacities (GGOs), white blood cells (WBCs), and the progression of quantified chest computed tomography emphysema.
They analyzed data from the SPIROMICS study (Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study). Chest radiologists and pulmonologists labeled lung regions as GGOs, and the adaptive multiple feature method (AMFM) trained the computer to assign these labels to image voxels, quantifying the lung volume with GGOs (%GGOAMFM ). Multivariable linear regression, zero-inflated negative binomial, and proportional hazards regression models were applied to evaluate the association of %GGOAMFM with WBCs, emphysema progression, and clinical outcomes.
The results showed that among 2,714 participants, 1,680 had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 1,034 had normal spirometry. Participants with COPD had current smoking and chronic productive cough linked to a higher %GGOAMFM . Increased %GGOAMFM was associated with elevated WBC and neutrophil concentrations. At baseline, a higher %GGOAMFM per interquartile range predicted an 11.7% increase in emphysema at the 1-year follow-up (relative increase; 95% confidence interval, 7.5-16.1%; P < 0.001). No association was found between %GGOAMFM and FEV1 decline, but it was linked to exacerbations and all-cause mortality over a median follow-up of 1,544 days (interquartile range, 1,118-2,059). In participants with normal spirometry, %GGOAMFM was associated with progression to COPD at 1-year follow-up.
Investigators concluded the GGOAMFM was associated with greater adipose tissue gene expression along increased systemic inflammation and accelerated emphysema progression.
Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38843116/
