Quantitative CT Assessment of Pulmonary Fibrosis Severity in Patients with Connective Tissue Disease-associated Interstitial Lung Disease
WANG Ke
HU Zitao
CUI Lulu
GUO Shengya
HUANG Xiaoqi
Abstract：Objective:To classify pulmonary fibrosis severity in connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease(CTD-ILD)patients by integrating visual scoring and quantitative computed tomography(CT).Methods:A total of 96 patients with CTD-ILD and 47 CTD controls without ILD were enrolled.Pulmonary fibrosis was evaluated using the Warrick score and the 3D slicer-based density histogram method.Results:Significant differences were observed in standard deviation(SD),kurtosis,and skewness across the severity groups.Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified HAA as an independent predictor of fibrosis severity.The receiver-operating characterisric curve(ROC)showed that combining all quantitative CT parameters achieved an area under the curve(AUC)of 0.846(sensitivity=0.739 and specificity=0.885)to distinguish normal/mild cases from moderate/severe cases.Weak positive correlations were observed between Perc10,Perc15,MLA,and RV/TLC.Conclusion:This approach enables a noninvasive and objective assessment of CTD-ILD severity,thereby providing a clinically valuable alternative for patients with limitations in pulmonary function testing,reducing diagnostic and therapeutic costs,and demonstrating a strong potential for widespread implementation in primary healthcare settings.
Keywords：connective tissue disease(CTD)interstitial lung disease(ILD)Warrick scorequantitative CT metricsseverity of pulmonary fibrosis
Publication Date：2025-07-31
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：9( 589-597 )