Non-contrast-enhanced assessment of lung perfusion in CF patients during respiratory tract exacerbation using Fourier decomposition magnetic resonance imaging (FDMRI)

Aim: To evaluate FDMRI, a validated technique for lung perfusion assessment, in differentiating CF patients with respiratory tract exacerbation and its correlation with clinical parameters Materials and Methods: We selected 32 consecutive CF patients at their visit, performing clinical examination, spirometry and lung MRI. Patients with exacerbations, identified with Pex score, underwent antibiotic treatment while stable were not treated. A second examination was performed after therapy in exacerbated and after 30 days in stable. For FDMRI it was used a 2D SSFP sequence, the data obtained were converted into perfusion maps by a specific software. Two readers indipendently analized the maps for perfusion defects using a field based scoring system (0-18). We assessed intra- and inter-rater agreement (Cohen k), differentiation between stable and exacerbated (OR), correlation with spirometry parameters (Kendall9s Tau) Results: There were 14 exacerbated patients and 17 stable. The score showed an inter- and intra-rater agreement k of 0.85 and 0.93 (p Conclusion: The score applied to perfusion maps showed a good reproducibility, being effective in differentiating CF exacerbated patients and can play a role in monitoring them