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OBJECTIVE: Wood smoke exposure is a risk factor for COPD. For a given degree of airway obstruction, the reduction in DLCO is smaller in individuals with wood smoke-related COPD than in those with smoking-related COPD, suggesting that there is less emphysema in the former. The objective of this study was to compare HRCT findings between women with wood smoke-related COPD and women with smoking-related COPD. METHODS: Twenty-two women with severe COPD (FEV1/FVC ratio < 70% and FEV1 < 50%) were divided into two groups: those with wood smoke-related COPD (n = 12) and those with smoking-related COPD (n = 10). The two groups were compared regarding emphysema scores and airway involvement (as determined by HRCT); and functional abnormalities-spirometry results, DLCO, alveolar volume (VA), the DLCO/VA ratio, lung volumes, and specific airway resistance (sRaw). RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of FEV1, sRaw, or lung hyperinflation. Decreases in DLCO and in the DLCO/VA ratio were greater in the smoking-related COPD group subjects, who also had higher emphysema scores, in comparison with the wood smoke-related COPD group subjects. In the wood smoke-related COPD group, HRCT scans showed no significant emphysema, the main findings being peribronchial thickening, bronchial dilation, and subsegmental atelectasis. CONCLUSIONS: Female patients with severe wood smoke-related COPD do not appear to develop emphysema, although they do show severe airway involvement. The reduction in DLCO and VA, with a normal DLCO/VA ratio, is probably due to severe bronchial obstruction and incomplete mixing of inspired gas during the determination of single-breath DLCO. OBJETIVO: La exposición a humo de leña es factor de riesgo para EPOC. A diferencia de la EPOC por cigarrillo (EPOC-C), para un mismo nivel de obstrucción, en la EPOC por leña (EPOC-L), la DLCO está menos disminuida, sugiriendo menos enfisema. Por tanto, el objetivo de este estudio fue comparar los hallazgos en la TCAR en mujeres con EPOC-L y con EPOC- C. MÉTODOS: Veintidós mujeres con EPOC severa (VEF1/CVF < 70% y VEF1 < 50%) fueron divididas en dos grupos: las expuestas a leña (EPOC-L; n = 12) y las expuestas a cigarrillo (EPOC-C; n = 10). Se compararon los dos grupos con respecto al puntaje de enfisema y el compromiso de la vía aérea en la TCAR, las anormalidades funcionales en la espirometría, la DLCO, los volúmenes pulmonares y la resistencia específica de la vía aérea (sRaw). RESULTADOS: Los dos grupos tuvieron VEF1, sRaw e hiperinflación pulmonar similares. En el grupo EPOC-C, hubo mayor disminución de la DLCO y de la DLCO/VA y mayor puntaje de enfisema. En el grupo EPOC-L, no encontramos enfisema significativo en la TCAR. Los hallazgos principales fueron engrosamiento peribronquial, dilataciones bronquiales y atelectasias subsegmentarias. CONCLUSIONES: En pacientes con EPOC-L severa no hay enfisema en la TCAR. El hallazgo más importante es el compromiso severo de la vía aérea. La disminución de la DLCO y del VA con DLCO/VA normal es probablemente determinada por la obstrucción bronquial severa y la mezcla incompleta del gas inspirado en la maniobra de la respiración única de la prueba de difusión