Objective To observe and describe anatomical types of the pulmonary arteries to keep safety of lung resection. Methods Between November 25, 2005 and January 22, 2013, 194 patients who underwent right upper lobectomy/sleeve lobectomy or combined lung resection including right upper lobectomy were included in Peking University Cancer Hospital. There were 128 males with a median age of 59 (37-86) years and 66 females with a median age of 60 (42-77) years. We separated the pulmonary arteries and recorded the number and positions of them. Some patients were recorded photographically. Results There were 10 types of right upper lobe pulmonary artery branches in this study. Type 1: 1 apicoanterior segmental artery, 1 ascending segmental artery, 96 patients (49.5%); Type 2: 1 apicoanterior segmental artery, 2 ascending segmental arteries, 48 patients (24.7%); Type 3: 2 apicoanterior segmental arteries, 1 ascending segmental artery, 28 patients (14.4%); Type 4: 2 apicoanterior segmental arteries, 2 ascending segmental arteries, 9 patients (4.6%); Type 5: 1 apicoanterior segmental artery only, 6 patients (3.1%); Type 6: 1 apicoanterior segmental artery, 3 ascending segmental arteries, 3 patients (1.5%); Type 7: 4 apicoanterior segmental arteries, 1 ascending segmental artery, 1 patient (0.5%); Type 8: 3 apicoanterior segmental arteries, 1 ascending segmental artery, 1 patient (0.5%); Type 9: 2 apicoanterior segmental arteries, 1 patient (0.5%); Type 10: 3 apicoanterior segmental arteries, 2 ascending segmental arteries, 1 patient (0.5%). Conclusion The types of pulmonary artery branches are predictable in some way. It would be helpful to reduce the risk of pulmonary artery injury and improve the operation safety by following the rules. Variations of pulmonary artery should be noticed to avoid the major bleeding due to the pulmonary artery injury.
Objective To investigate the feasibility of diagnosis of potential chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients who cannot finish the pulmonary function test via biphasic CT scan. Methods Sixty-seven male individuals aged 43 to 74 (57.0±5.9) years were divided into a COPD group (n=26) and a control group (n=41). All individuals underwent biphasic quantitative CT scan for calculating the proportion of emphysema, functional small airway disease, and normal component of the whole lung and each lobe. Results Based on principle component analysis, two principal components “imaging feature function 1 and imaging feature function 2” were calculated and analyzed by logistic regression, which found that imaging feature function 1 was an independent risk factor of COPD (odds ratio=8.749, P<0.001), and imaging features function 1 could be used to assist the diagnosis of COPD (area under receiver operating characteristic curve=0.843, P<0.001). Conclusion Imaging features function 1 is an independent risk factor for COPD and can assist the diagnosis of COPD.