[Efficacy of conventional CT in diagnosis of pulmonary emphysema: evaluation of low attenuation area by multiple observers].

The efficacy of conventional CT in the diagnosis of pulmonary emphysema (PE) was studied in 122 patients with miscellaneous diseases including 26 patients with PE. The density and the distribution of low attenuation area (LAA) were evaluated by six independent physicians. Analysis with kappa statistics showed a good inter-observer agreement in the detection of LAA. The grading of LAA correlated well with FEV1/FVC, DLCO/VA, and lung volumes, which indicated that PE could be detected by conventional CT by the evaluation of LAA. The agreement was poor, however, for the detection of low grade LAA and there were some false positives, and there was no specific pattern in the distribution of LAA in PE compared to other pulmonary diseases. We conclude that the evaluation of LAA by conventional CT is simple and effective in the screening of PE.