Computer tomography (CT) supported emphysema phenotyping
The lung volume reduction can be an effective therapy method for certain patients suffering from an emphysema.
The procedures are expensive and associated with several risks.
A clinical problem is the low response rate, meaning that only few treated patients benefit from the therapy. Therefore, an exact classification of the target group for these procedures is essential.
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Emphysema phenotyping - study design
In this clinical study, the relation between medical findings of emphysema, obtained by imaging techniques (computer tomography), and the lung function is examined. The goal is to phenotype the emphysema and to define the target group for a lung volume reduction more precisely. For this, a retrospective analysis of COPD patient data of the last five years is performed. The spiroergometry and the full-body plethysmography data are checked for correlations with the thoracic tomography (densitometry) data. In addition, the study should yield data on the prevalence of emphysema in COPD patients.