Yan Gao1, Xianging Du1, Wen Qin1,
Kuncheng Li1
1Department of Radiology,
Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, People's
Republic of
We studied right ventricular function in 46 patients with mild to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) determined by the pulmonary function test (PFT) using MRI. Our study population consisted of 30 control subjects. The RVEF was significantly lower in severe COPD group than in other groups (p < 0.01). The correlation was excellent between the MRI results and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (r = 0.859 for RVEF, r= -0.839 for RV MM) in COPD patients. The RVEF and RV MM measured by MRI correlate well with the severity of disease as determined by PFT in COPD patients.