AUTHOR=Zong Kaican , Liu Bin , Li Shiying , Li Yishi , Guo Shuliang 

TITLE=Endobronchial optical coherence tomography helps to estimate the cartilage damage of the central airway in TBTB patients

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1278281

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2023.1278281

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=Purpose: At present, there are few examination methods used to evaluate the tracheobronchial cartilage damage. In our study, we would explore whether Endobronchial optical coherence tomography (EB-OCT) can be used to estimate central airway cartilage damage in tracheobronchial tuberculosis (TBTB) patients.In our study, we used the OCTICS Imaging system to perform the EB-OCT scanning for TBTB patients. The thickness of the central airway wall and cartilage were measured by the OCTICS software system workstation.Results: There were 102 TBTB patients included in our study cohort. Their EB-OCT images of central airway cartilage were showed that abnormal cartilage manifests as thinning of cartilage, cartilage damage, cartilage destruction, and even cartilage deficiency. The cartilage morphology becomes irregular and discontinuous. Some parts of the cartilage become brighter in grayscale. The intima of cartilage is thickened and discontinuous, and the boundary with submucosa and mucosa is unclear.Our study conducted EB-OCT examination of the central airway cartilage of TBTB patients in vivo for the first time. Endobronchial optical coherence tomography (EB-OCT) is helpful to estimate the cartilage damage of the central airway in TBTB patients in some extent.