Volumetric study of tracheal diverticulum: a retrospective analysis in computed tomography

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the prevalence and morphology (location, diameter, number and volume) of the tracheal diverticulum (TD) on thoracic computed tomography (CT), in a sample of the Turkish population. Material and Method: The study was conducted over 15 months, from February 2020 to April 2021, and included 3,860 thoracic CT scans, of which 1,891 subjects were men and the rest were women. All of the thoracic CT scans were evaluated retrospectively. All images were reviewed for the presence or absence of the TD in the axial plane, defined as air sacs around the trachea and communication with the trachea. For volume measurement, the TD contour was manually evaluated by a single radiologist, for all patients. Descriptive statistics were reported as mean±standard deviation (SD). A p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age of the patients was 57.87±14.76 (29-84). In this study, the incidence of TD was calculated to be 0.80%. The mean tracheal diverticulum volume (TDV) and maximum transverse diameter (MTD) of TD were 983.62±1 509.80 mm3 and 8.79±6.19 mm, respectively. Conclusion: In this study, we demonstrated the volumetric measurement of TD and its prevalence. We believe that the frequency of its use in clinical practice should increase, as volumetric measurements provide healthier results than diameter measurements.

Keywords

• volumetry
• tracheal diverticula
• prevalence
• computed tomography

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