Assessment of regional lung ventilation by electrical impedance tomography in a patient with unilateral bronchial stenosis and a history of tuberculosis

Bronchial stenosis can impair regional lung ventilation by causing abnormal, asymmetric airflow limitation. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is an imaging technique that allows the assessment of regional lung ventilation and therefore complements the functional assessment of the lungs. We report the case of a patient with left unilateral bronchial stenosis and a history of tuberculosis, in whom regional lung ventilation was assessed by EIT. The EIT results were compared with those obtained by ventilation/perfusion radionuclide imaging. The patient was using nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Therefore, we studied the effects of postural changes and of the use of nasal CPAP. The EIT revealed heterogeneous distribution of regional lung ventilation, the ventilation being higher in the right lung, and this distribution was influenced by postural changes and CPAP use. The EIT assessment of regional lung ventilation produced results similar to those obtained with the radionuclide imaging technique and had the advantage of providing a dynamic evaluation without radiation exposure.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Marinho,Liégina Silveira, Sousa,Nathalia Parente de, Barros,Carlos Augusto Barbosa da Silveira, Matias,Marcelo Silveira, Monteiro,Luana Torres, Beraldo,Marcelo do Amaral, Costa,Eduardo Leite Vieira, Amato,Marcelo Britto Passos, Holanda,Marcelo Alcantara
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia 2013
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-37132013000600742
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