Background:
Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious lung disease with high
worldwide incidence that severely compromises the quality of life in
affected individuals. Clinical tests are currently employed to monitor
pulmonary status and treatment progression. The present study aimed to apply
a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction method based on chest radiography to
quantify lung-involvement volume of TB acute-phase patients before and after
treatment. In addition, these results were compared with indices from
conventional clinical exams to show the coincidence level.
Methods:
A 3D lung reconstruction method using patient chest radiography was applied
to quantify lung-involvement volume using retrospective examinations of 50
patients who were diagnosed with pulmonary TB and treated with two different
drugs schemes. Twenty-five patients were treated with Scheme I (rifampicin,
isoniazid, and pyrazinamide), whereas twenty-five patients were treated with
Scheme II (rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol). Acute-phase
reaction: Serum exams included C-reactive protein levels, erythrocyte
sedimentation rate, and albumin levels. Pulmonary function was tested
posttreatment.
Results:
We found strong agreement between lung involvement and serum indices pre- and
posttreatment. Comparison of the functional severity degree with lung
involvement based on 3D image quantification for both treatment schemes
found a high correlation.
Conclusions:
The present 3D reconstruction method produced a satisfactory agreement with
the acute-phase reaction, most notably a higher significance level with the
C-reactive protein. We also found a quite reasonable coincidence between the
3D reconstruction method and the degree of functional lung impairment
posttreatment. The performance of the quantification method was satisfactory
when comparing the two treatment schemes. Thus, the 3D reconstruction
quantification method may be useful tools for monitoring TB treatment. The
association with serum indices are not only inexpensive and sensitive but
also may be incorporated into the assessment of patients during TB
treatment.