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1 Respiratory, Cell and Molecular Biology, and 2 Research and Development Support Unit, University of Southampton, 3 Dept of Radiology, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, and 4 Dept of Thoracic Medicine, The Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Bournemouth, UK
CORRESPONDENCE: T. Shaw, Clinical Research Fellow, MP 810, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK. Fax: 44 2380701771 E-mail: shawtj@doctors.org.uk
Keywords: Airway wall measurements, computed tomography, endobronchial ultrasound
Received: October 27, 2003
Accepted February 11, 2004
This work was supported by the Bournemouth Chest Diseases Charitable Trust.
Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) allows identification of airway wall structures and could potentially be utilised for in vivo studies of airway thickening in asthma. The present study investigated whether inflation of the fluid-filled balloon sheath over the transducer (necessary to provide sonic coupling with the airway wall) influenced in vitro measurements. In vivo comparability of EBUS with high resolution computed tomography scanning (HRCT), an established method for measuring wall thickness, was determined in control subjects.
The airway diameter and wall thickness were studied using EBUS in 24 cartilaginous airways obtained from four sheep, before and after balloon sheath inflation during immersion in saline. To assess EBUS versus HRCT comparability of airway measures in vivo, 12 control subjects underwent imaging of the posterior basal bronchus of the right lower lobe by both techniques. Intra- and interobserver agreement were also assessed.
Results with and without the balloon sheath gave comparable measures of airway internal diameter and wall thickness in vitro. Statistical analysis showed agreement between EBUS and HRCT, and intra- and interobserver variability in vivo.
The current study concludes that endobronchial ultrasound, which does not present a radiation risk, could be utilised in the in vivo study of cartilaginous airway wall remodelling in respiratory diseases, such as asthma.
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