Coronary Artery Calcification on Thoracic Computed Tomography Is an Independent Predictor of Mortality in Patients With Bronchiectasis

Purpose:

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) on thoracic computed tomography (CT) can identify patients at risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) mortality. However, the overlap between bronchiectasis and CAC severity for predicting subsequent outcomes is unknown.

Materials and Methods:

CT images from 362 patients (mean age 66±14 y, 38% male) with known bronchiectasis were assessed. Bronchiectasis severity was assessed using the Bronchiectasis Severity Index (0 to 4, mild; 5 to 8, moderate; and ≥9, severe). CAC was assessed with a visual ordinal score (0, none; 1, mild; 2, moderate; 3, severe) in each of the left main stem, left anterior descending, left circumflex, and right coronary arteries. Vessel CAC scores were summed and categorized as none (0), mild (1 to 3), moderate (4 to 8), and severe (9 to 12).

Results:

Patients with severe bronchiectasis were older (P

Source: Journal of Thoracic Imaging - April 24, 2021 Category: Radiology Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research