The Relationship of Pulmonary Artery Enlargement and Pulmonary Artery Diameter/Aortic Diameter Ratio with Demographic Characteristics, Exacerbation, Pulmonary Function Tests and Surveillance in COPD Patients

İntroduction: COPD; it is a heterogeneous, complex disease that is dominated by respiratory symptoms such as cough, sputum, dyspnea, progresses with exacerbations and is a significant cause of morbidit and mortality. İn COPD hypoxia, prunung of peripheral vascular structures and inflammatory processes cause remodelling in the pulmonary vascular bed. In our study width of the pulmonary artery diameter and the ratio of the pulmonary artery diameter to the ascending aorta (PA/A); we aimed to examine its relationship with parameters such as SFT values, exacerbation frequencies, hospitalizations, intensive care unit admission histories, 6 MWD, BODE index, ECHO results and demographic characteristics. Methods: 151 patients over the age of 40 who applied to the Chest Diseases Polyclinic of Dicle University Faculty of Medicine between 01.01.2021-01.05.2023 whose COPD diagnosis was confirmed by SFT and who had a previous thorax CT, were retrospectively scanned through the Hospital İnformation Management System (HBYS). In the axial plane of the mediastinum window the pulmonary artery diameter was measured in the section where the pulmonary artery bifurcated and the aortic diameter in the same section was measured with an electronic ruler. Results: The average age of 151 patients was 64.61±8.99 years and 129 (%85.4) of them were male. The median value of the main pulmonary artery diameter was 27.4 (17.9-49.9), there were 58 (%38.4) patients with a diameter of 29 mm and above, 18 (%11.9) patients with a PA/A of 1 and above. In groups with larger pulmonary artery diameter or PA/A of 1 and above, female gender, history of exacerbations that did not require hospitalization, history of hospitalization, history of admission to the intensive care unit, use of O2 concentrators and BPAP devices were detected more frequently. (p<0.05) Lower FEV1 (%), FEV1 (Lt), MEF 25-75 (Lt), PEF (%), PEF (Lt) values were detected in SFT patients with pulmonary artery diameter of 29 mm and above. (p<0.05) In addition, higher BMI values, lower 6 MWD, higher BODE index, more frequent tricuspid insufficiency and enlargement of the right heart chambers were observed in this group. (p<0.05) Conclusion: We found that pulmonary artery diameter and the ratio of pulmonary artery diameter to ascending aorta, which can be easily measured in thorax CT scans are associated with exacerbation, survey, pulmonary function tests and demographic in COPD patients. The fact that the measurement can be easily repeated when necessary and the short learning period of the measurement technique makes it easier to use it in Daily practice and is thought to be a guiding parameter for physicians. Keywords: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, COPD, Pulmonary artery diameter, Ratio of pulmonary artery diameter to aorta