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. 2013 Oct;57(5):534-43.
doi: 10.1111/1754-9485.12083. Epub 2013 Jun 4.

Pulmonary hamartomas: CT pixel analysis for fat attenuation using radiologic-pathologic correlation

Tadhg Gleeson  1 , Rennae Thiessen, Ailish Hannigan, Darra Murphy, John C English, John R Mayo
Affiliations

Pulmonary hamartomas: CT pixel analysis for fat attenuation using radiologic-pathologic correlation

Tadhg Gleeson et al. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

Introduction: To assess the accuracy of CT pixel analysis for fat attenuation in pulmonary hamartomas.

Methods: Retrospective review identified 32 patients in three separate groups; pathologically proven hamartoma (n = 11), hamartoma diagnosed on imaging (n = 9) and a control group (n = 14) of pathology-proven non-hamartomatous smoothly marginated solitary pulmonary nodules. All lesions were assessed using: visual assessment for fat, pixel analysis of the inner 2/3rds and mean attenuation of the entire lesion, using an internal reference for fat. Fat percentages on CT and at histology were compared.

Results: Visual assessment for macroscopic fat was the most reliable method for diagnosing pulmonary hamartoma. Combining percentage of fat-attenuation pixels in the inner 2/3rds of the lesion improved specificity to 100%. Mean attenuation or pixel analysis in isolation were not helpful in lesional characterization.

Conclusion: Combining percentage fat-attenuating pixels in the inner 2/3rds with visual assessment for macroscopic fat improves specificity for diagnosing pulmonary hamartomas.

Keywords: computed tomography; fat; pulmonary hamartoma.

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