Alevizos MK, Danoff SK, Pappas DA, Lederer DJ, Johnson C, Hoffman EA, Bernstein EJ, Bathon JM, Giles JT. Assessing Predictors of Rheumatoid Arthritis Associated Interstitial Lung Disease using Quantitative Lung Densitometry.
Rheumatology (Oxford) 2021;
61:2792-2804. [PMID:
34747452 DOI:
10.1093/rheumatology/keab828]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To assess predictors of subclinical rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease (RA-ILD) using quantitative lung densitometry (qLD).
METHODS
RA patients underwent multi-detector row computed tomography scanning at baseline and after an average of 39 months. Scans were analyzed with qLD for the percentage of lung parenchyma with high attenuation areas (%HAA: the percentage of voxels of -600 to -250 Hounsfield units). Additionally, a pulmonary radiologist calculated an Expert Read Score (ERS) for RA-ILD features. Generalized linear models were used to identify indicators of baseline %HAA and predictors of %HAA change.
RESULTS
Baseline %HAA was assessed in 193 RA patients and 106 had repeat qLD assessment. %HAA was correlated with ERS (Spearman's rho = 0.261; p< 0.001). Significant indicators of high baseline %HAA (>10% of lung parenchyma with high attenuation) included female sex, higher pack-years of smoking, higher body mass index, and anti-CCP ≥ 200 units, collectively contributing an area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC)=0.88 (95% CI 0.81-0.95). Predictors of %HAA increase, occurring in 49% with repeat qLD, included higher baseline %HAA, presence of MUC5B minor allele, and absence of HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (AUC-ROC = 0.69; 95% CI 0.58-0.79). The association of the MUC5B minor allele with %HAA change was higher among men and those with higher cumulative smoking. Within the group with increased %HAA, anti-CCP level was significantly associated with a greater increase in %HAA.
CONCLUSIONS
%HAA, assessed with qLD, was linked to several known risk factors for RA-ILD and may represent a more quantitative method to identify RA-ILD and track progression than expert radiologist interpretation.
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