Author/Authors :
Shiraishi, Kazushige Department of Pulmonary Medicine - St. Luke’s International Hospital - St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan , Jinta, Torahiko Department of Pulmonary Medicine - St. Luke’s International Hospital - St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan , Nishimura, Naoki Department of Pulmonary Medicine - St. Luke’s International Hospital - St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan , Nakaoka, Hiroshi Department of Pulmonary Medicine - St. Luke’s International Hospital - St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan , Tsugitomi, Ryosuke Department of Pulmonary Medicine - St. Luke’s International Hospital - St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan , Okafuji, Kohei Department of Pulmonary Medicine - St. Luke’s International Hospital - St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan , Kitamura, Atsushi Department of Pulmonary Medicine - St. Luke’s International Hospital - St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan , Tomishima, Yutaka Department of Pulmonary Medicine - St. Luke’s International Hospital - St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan , Deshpande, Gautam A. Center for Clinical Epidemiology - St. Luke’s International Hospital - St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan , Tamura, Tomohide Department of Pulmonary Medicine - St. Luke’s International Hospital - St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, Japan
Abstract :
Background. Although digital clubbing is a common presentation in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), little has been
reported regarding its role in assessing patients with ILD. ,is study evaluated patients with ILD for the presence of clubbing and
investigated its association with clinical data. Methods. We evaluated patients with ILD who visited the teaching hospital at which
the study was conducted, between October 2014 and January 2015. Clubbing, evaluated using a Vernier caliper for individual
patients, was defined as a phalangeal depth ratio > 1. We examined the association of clubbing with clinical data. Results. Of 102
patients with ILD, we identified 17 (16.7%) with clubbing. ,e partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood was lower (65.2 ±
5.9 mmHg versus 80.2 ± 3.1 mmHg; p = 0.03), serum Krebs von den Lugen-6 (KL-6) levels were higher (1495.0 ± 277.4 U/mL
versus 839.1 ± 70.2 U/mL; p = 0.001), and the percent predicted diffusing capacity of carbon monoxide was lower (50.0 ± 6.0
versus 73.5 ± 3.1; p = 0.002) in these patients with clubbing. Conclusions. Patients with clubbing had lower oxygen levels, higher
serum KL-6 levels, and lower pulmonary function than those without clubbing.
