Diagnostic performance of chest CT average intensity projection (AIP) reconstruction for the assessment of pleuro-parenchymal abnormalities

AIM: The comparison between chest x-ray (CXR) and computed tomography (CT) images is commonly required in clinical practice to assess the evolution of chest pathological manifestations. Intrinsic differences between the two techniques, however, limit reader confidence in such a comparison. CT average intensity projection (AIP) reconstruction allows obtaining “synthetic” CXR (s-CXR) images, which are thought to have the potential to increase the accuracy of comparison between CXR and CT imaging. We aim at assessing the diagnostic performance of s-CXR imaging in detecting common pleuro-parenchymal abnormalities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 142 patients who underwent chest CT examination and CXR within 24 hours were enrolled. CT was the standard of reference. Both conventional CXR (c-CXR) and s-CXR images were retrospectively reviewed for the presence of consolidation, nodule/mass, linear opacities, reticular opacities, and pleural effusion by 3 readers in two separate sessions. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and their 95% confidence interval were calculated for each reader and setting and tested by McNemar test. Inter-observer agreement was tested by Cohen's K test and its 95%CI. RESULTS: Overall, s-CXR sensitivity ranged 45–67% for consolidation, 12–28% for nodule/mass, 17–33% for linear opacities, 2–61% for reticular opacities, and 33–58% for pleural effusion; specificity 65–83%, 83–94%, 94–98%, 93–100% and 79–86%; accuracy 66–68%, 74–79%, 89–91%, 61–65% and 68–72%, respectively. K values ranged 0.38–0.50, 0.05–0.25, -0.05–0.11, -0.01–0.15, and 0.40–0.66 for consolidation, nodule/mass, linear opacities, reticular opacities, and pleural effusion, respectively. CONCLUSION: S-CXR images, reconstructed with AIP technique, can be compared with conventional images in clinical practice and for educational purposes.