Clinical application of spiral CT virtual bronchscopy (with a review on 46 cases)

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of CT virtual bronchoscopy (CTVB). Methods CTVB was performed in 46 cases. The results and their processed axial and MPR images were compared with the findings of and fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB). Results Like FOB, CTVB clearly revealed the normal anatomy and varied lesions throughout the whole bronchial tree up to subsegmental bronchi, even including the areas beyond stenosis. Of the 25 cases with central type lung cancer, CTVB revealed 34 bronchial lesions, with a sensitivity of 94% and a postive predictive value of 94%. The degrees of stenosis in trachea were all accurately displayed, and the 8 cases of tracheobronchial foreign body were correctly diagnosed. Conclusion CTVB can be clinically used as a supplement of, and partly replace, FOB. However, it can neither detect mucosal abnormalities nor allow taking histologic samples. Combined with its axial and other 3D-reconstructed imagings, CTVB can increase its diagnostic accuracy.